Concusions in the Nfl
Abdirahman Abdi
February 20, 2013
English 112, room B12
Professor Q.
1st Draft
Traumatic Brain Injury in the NFL About 5.3 million people in the United States suffer traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year, (Center for Disease Control). The probability of succeeding TBI for people with previous brain injuries is quite high; a study shows a person with two TBI’s is eight times more likely to have another, than a person who never had head trauma. TBI has been most commonly associated with professional athletes participating in American Football, Ice hockey, Boxing, and other contact sports. In the past fifty years, there have been between 200 or so players entering the National Football League each year. In the current years, player safety in NFL has been a major controversial subject, with the main concern being concussions. Concussions are a type of traumatic brain injury that has been purported to be one of the influences for player suicides, and other symptoms after retirement, including memory loss and depression. In 2012, some four thousand former and active NFL players “joined civil lawsuit against the League, seeking damages over the League’s failure to warn and protect players from concussions,” (The New York Times). While there have been efforts made to try to decrease the number of head injuries, a study done by University of North Carolina showed that 31% of concussed athletes rushed immediately back onto the field after injury (University of North Carolina). This is showing that far too many times, players are being rushed back to the field too quickly. In this essay I will explain the causes of traumatic brain injury in the NFL, in result what actions are being taken by the NFL and the players associate, and if there lays a potential recovery options for those effected by the condition.
What is TBI? In 2012, the Center for Disease Control reported an estimated 5.3 million Americans are living with disability due to traumatic
February 20, 2013
English 112, room B12
Professor Q.
1st Draft
Traumatic Brain Injury in the NFL About 5.3 million people in the United States suffer traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year, (Center for Disease Control). The probability of succeeding TBI for people with previous brain injuries is quite high; a study shows a person with two TBI’s is eight times more likely to have another, than a person who never had head trauma. TBI has been most commonly associated with professional athletes participating in American Football, Ice hockey, Boxing, and other contact sports. In the past fifty years, there have been between 200 or so players entering the National Football League each year. In the current years, player safety in NFL has been a major controversial subject, with the main concern being concussions. Concussions are a type of traumatic brain injury that has been purported to be one of the influences for player suicides, and other symptoms after retirement, including memory loss and depression. In 2012, some four thousand former and active NFL players “joined civil lawsuit against the League, seeking damages over the League’s failure to warn and protect players from concussions,” (The New York Times). While there have been efforts made to try to decrease the number of head injuries, a study done by University of North Carolina showed that 31% of concussed athletes rushed immediately back onto the field after injury (University of North Carolina). This is showing that far too many times, players are being rushed back to the field too quickly. In this essay I will explain the causes of traumatic brain injury in the NFL, in result what actions are being taken by the NFL and the players associate, and if there lays a potential recovery options for those effected by the condition.
What is TBI? In 2012, the Center for Disease Control reported an estimated 5.3 million Americans are living with disability due to traumatic