Concussion, depression and the NFL

This one, buck?

ESPN.com: Doctor yes

Pellman has since stepped down as chair of the NFL's concussion committee.

 

psuedo beat me to the Kelso post. I can't recall anyone else using that, though.

As for the Revolution helmet, I think it's still an option for players to wear it. Big Ben doesn't wear it; he got knocked out against the Falcons. The NFL ought to make the Revolution mandatory, stating player health.

 

Doesn't Merrill Hoge also suffer?

I have heard some urban legends about the lights at the WWL when he tapes the shows. I also heard a story once about him hearing the ocean after a hit.

 

Yeah, concussions ended his career when he was with the Bears ...

http://www.birf.info/prevent/prev-articles/prev-nfl-cc.html

Former NFL fullback Merril Hoge won $1.55 million from a lawsuit against the Chicago Bears' team doctor following a career-ending concussion in 1994. Hoge claimed the team failed to re-evaluate him for symptoms of post-concussion syndrome or warn him of the danger of returning to play too soon after a major concussion. He suffered another major concussion and never played again.

... I wouldn't be surprised if those urban legends about him are true.

 

Real Sports had a segment where the NFL doctor emphatically states there is no correlation.

 

HBO has been really on this issue on the program Real Sports. I think you're going to start seeing a lot of former players from the 80s and 90s have serious issues. If it gets ugly enough, you could have an exodus of interest away from the sport.

On a side note, the same thing happened in soccer in England, except instead of hits they studied headers. Older balls tended to pick up a lot of moisture and the weight of the balls ended up causing major brain trauma for many former players at every level of the game.

I do not know if this issue has been resolved.

 

What you are going to see is a helluva lot of former NFL'ers developing Alzheimer's.

 

Well hopefully we will have a cure for it soon.

I think it is on the radar as something that may be cureable down the road. Maybe?

 

What's down the road most immediately are therapies that treat AD like diabetes, a condition that is chronic, but not catastrophic. In other words, Grandpa gets kind of charmingly forgetful, but doesn't disappear for days in his pajamas. Believe me, that can be enough.

 

Willie Lanier wore one of those extra pads down the middle of his helmet back in the day and there weren't many people willing to tell Willie he looked stupid. At least not offensive players.

 

Already there.

This is from Rick Reilly's first column about the schmuck who tried to scam Pete Pihos, back in March 2004:

 

Thanks, Pseudo.

Yes, we're already there, certainly. And it's not just NFLers. It's a lot of college oldtimers, too -- including a member of my family -- who suffer from essentially dementia pugilistica ... punch-drunk boxers' syndrome ... after so many blows to the head all those years ago.

This is not new. Sadly.