By Ashton Becker
There is a true danger that lies behind one of America’s most celebrated forms of entertainment. It has become more than a sport or a game or a business, it has become an integral part of our society. Yet, it seems that we often fail to bring awareness to one of football’s major drawbacks: CTE.
CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated blows to the head. It creates a rather miserable existence for its victims as they become plagued with symptoms such as memory loss, depression, anxiety, impulsive and aggressive behavior, suicidal thoughts and dementia in later stages. The severity of CTE often coincides with time, such as the length of a player’s career. The damage sustained by the brain causes tau, a type of protein, to misfold and malfunction. This starts a chain reaction of malfunctioning proteins and eventually kills brain cells. The disease often affects the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which controls cognitive functions such as decision making, working memory and mood regulation.
It has led to the premature death of several NFL stars, including Junior Seau, Andre Waters and Dave Duerson, who died by suicide. Other tragic cases were Jovan Belcher, who committed suicide after shooting his girlfriend, Aaron Hernandez who was found dead in his prison cell after being convicted of murder, and Phillip Adams who killed six people before killing himself. The gruesome nature of these incidents shows the true gravity of CTE. It cannot be cured, but it can be prevented.
A diagnosis of CTE can only be determined posthumously, meaning it can not be identified in living people. Thus far, it has been found in the brains of more than 315 NFL players, though studies suggest the real number is much higher. In fact, a neuropathologist who examined the brains of 111 NFL players (of all ages and field positions) found that 110 of them had CTE.
When discussing the effects of CTE, there is a question that must be raised: is the risk worth the reward? Is the game, the fame, and the money really worth risking permanent brain damage that alters one’s mood, behavior, and ultimately, personality? Additionally, individuals with CTE not only pose a threat to their own safety, but to the safety of others. Our society idolizes professional football, but maybe we should start to rethink encouraging young men to pursue it.
Efforts are being made by the NFL, who formerly denied football’s connection with long-term brain damage, to help curb this issue through spending several hundreds of millions of dollars into helmet and concussion research. However, it is doubtful that helmets will ever be able to absorb all the shock or fully protect players from the force behind a hit. The NFL can try to manufacture more high tech helmets or strengthen specific rules on hitting other players, but none of it will eliminate the danger and the risks that the players take when they step onto the field each game.
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