Head Trauma In The NFL

In a combined nine NFL seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Washington Redskins, Antwaan Randle El caught 27 touchdown passes and played in two Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl XL against the Seattle Seahawks (Emert). Randle El is the only wide receiver to throw a touchdown in Super Bowl history (Emert). But he says if he could go back in time, he’d give all of that back and choose a different sport (Emert). Only 36 years old, Randle El says that he struggles with memory loss and going up and down the stairs in his house (Emert). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, participants in sports and recreational activities sustain approximately 1.6 million-3.8 million concussions per year ("By the Numbers"). Over the course of one season, a
These hits to the head can lead to headache, loss of memory, confusion, and even debilitating, chronic brain diseases such as dementia. The severity of head trauma in the NFL has been ignored for too long. The National Football League needs to be more concerned with player safety, and to institute rule changes that will diminish head injuries. One reason the NFL needs to do more to protect its players from head injuries, is the alarming rate that retired players are being diagnosed with Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE is a degenerative disease of the brain that is linked to repeated head traumas like concussions ("NFL Concussion Fast Facts"). In a recent study conducted by researchers in the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University, 96 percent of a group of examined NFL players were found to have CTE (Breslow, Jason). Dr. Ann McKee has recognized four stages of CTE (Wexler). Although there are no symptoms associated with stage 1 of CTE, during this period, a protein identified as “tau” begins to form around the brain’s blood vessels, interrupting, and eventually killing, normal