Posts Tagged ‘football and CTE’
By Paul Stone On February 21st, 2019
Because it takes so long for the telltale symptoms to appear, many think of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) as something that is only a concern for older athletes or veterans. This is furthered by the fact that CTE can only be officially diagnosed in autopsies after death. Despite this, researchers from Boston University School of…
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By Paul Stone On February 14th, 2019
While the NFL continues to make changes aimed at reducing the number of brain injuries in the league, a vocal contingent of fans bemoans the loss of “real football”. Now, they are getting what they’ve been asking for with the recent launch of the Alliance of American Football and the upcoming return of the XFL.…
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By Paul Stone On February 7th, 2019
Football was one of the few constants for Tommy “Mr. Falcon” Nobis. Even after he retired as a linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons, he quickly assumed a position as the manager of the team’s training camp hotel. From there he would rise through the ranks to eventually become vice president of the franchise. The other…
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By Paul Stone On June 27th, 2018
A 21-year-old Washington State football player who committed suicide in January had extensive damage to his brain linked to football-related brain trauma, his family recently revealed. Tyler Hilinski committed suicide in his apartment using a gun, a scenario remarkably common among former football players with CTE. Yesterday, his parents, Mark and Kym Hilinski, appeared on…
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By Paul Stone On May 10th, 2018
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by repetitive brain trauma. You’ve likely heard of it as the brain disease affecting former NFL players who experienced numerous concussions during their careers. Now, there is evidence that players who started playing tackle football before the age of 12 were likely to show observable symptoms…
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By Paul Stone On September 5th, 2017
You don’t have to look far to find people proclaiming the end of football right now. Vocal critics like Malcolm Gladwell and respected medical experts such as Bennett Omalu are quick to say they believe the NFL should be disbanded in light of the risks for repeated head trauma and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. But, you’d…
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By Paul Stone On May 29th, 2017
In the discussion about concussions in football, players are often portrayed as the innocents being sent into danger by the more malicious coaching staff and league officials running a business. Reality is rarely so black and white. As we’ve seen recently, players can be just as responsible for hiding injuries to stay in the game…
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By Paul Stone On January 16th, 2017
Bo Jackson earned the title of world’s greatest living athlete by becoming the only person to ever be an All-Star in baseball and a Pro Bowl player in football, but his opinion on the notoriously dangerous sport of football might surprise some. According to a recent interview, Jackson says that had he known then what…
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By Paul Stone On January 2nd, 2017
Rashaan Salaam was a former college star who won the Heisman Trophy in 1994 before spending four seasons in the NFL. In November of last year, he was also found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to the Boulder County Coroner’s office. Salaam’s death shares many similarities to a number of…
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By Paul Stone On December 6th, 2016
As we learn more about the long-term risks associated with football and repeated concussions, many have begun to question whether the sport is still safe enough to allow in schools. The question is at the center of a discussion recently published in the medical journal Pediatrics, where experts and physicians from several institutions debated both…
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