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Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)

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Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive, declinatory disease of the brain found in people, often athletes, with a history of repetitive brain trauma, including symptomatic concussions as well as asymptomatic sub concussive blows to the head. CTE spreads over a period of years or decades as a result of trauma to the head. The brain of someone who suffers from CTE gradually will deteriorate and over time lose mass. Symptoms of CTE include loss of memory, impulsive or erratic behavior, impaired judgment, depression, aggression, difficulty with balance, and dementia.

Mike Webster, Hall of Famer for the Pittsburg Steelers, was the first football player to be diagnosed with CTE, and died of the disease in 2002. As told by his …show more content…

She is a leading authority on CTE. She has found evidence of CTE in over 70 of the athletes that she has examined. Over the last 5 years, Ann McKee has become the most important members among research scientists and family members effected by the issue of CTE. Chris Nowinski was a Harvard football player, who became a pro wrestler and suffered a debilitating concussion during his career. This led to his finding of the Sports Legacy institute, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to the research of sports related head injuries. Following his wrestling career, he wrote his book: “Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis.” The book examines the long-term effects of various forms of head trauma among athletes. Nowinski played a crucial role in the discovery of the fourth diagnosed case of CTE in a former NFL football player, Justin Strzelczyk, former Pittsburg Steelers offensive lineman, and worked with Dr. Bennet Omalu to examine the …show more content…

The NFL has stated that they believe the issues having to do with the knees, drugs, and steroids are greater problems in football, according to the number of incidents, than concussions. In several attempts to talk to the NFL about the effects of CTE found in football players, the discussion has been dismissed. In 2013, the NFL agreed to pay $765 million to settle the lawsuit with retired players. As part of this settlement, the league did not admit any wrongdoing. There was no admission that anything was caused by football. In response to CTE, the NFL is in denial. To limit the number of concussions, the NFL released a video in 2013 explaining the new NFL playing rules, banning the “crown of the helmet” hits outside of the tackle box- designed to reduce high impact blows to the head resulting in

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According CNN’s article “NFL Concussion Fun Facts,” there have been 692 combined concussions diagnosed throughout the preseason and regular season in the NFL over the past 3 years. It may be evident by these numbers that the NFL has a major problem with players getting concussions, and over the years their concussion protocol has been questioned by former players and other people around the football community. Ken Belson stated in his article “Brain Trauma to Affect One in Three Players, N.F.L. Agrees,“ that a third of retired football players are subject to long term brain issues, these issues may include the disease known as CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) which has been brought to light in a more recent time. CTE has effected a good

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The NFL should research more on CTE and discover ways to prevent it. One way could be providing safety gear that could protect the players from concussions, which is a major cause of CTE. The NFL should also accept that there is a connection between playing football and getting CTE. Our brains are not genetically engineered to sustain an impact on our cranium, so players who suffer a concussion in a game should not be let back into the game until proper treatment is provided. Until this happens we cannot trust the NFL on anything

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An open letter to Roger S. Goodell, Commissioner of the National Football League, from Lester Grinspoon M.D. I am among the millions of people who enjoy football as a spectator sport. However, I am becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the growing specter that many of these athletes will pay the price of developing Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) to a greater or lesser extent as they grow older. I believe that any change in the rules of the game which would accommodate these concerns would also diminish its popularity. I also believe that attempts to improve protective equipment can only go so far without seriously diminishing the skills and capacities of the player.

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Since American football star Michael Webster’s death, Nigerian-American physician, Bennet Omalu performed an autopsy that surprisingly showed his cause of death was from sever damage of the frontal lobe of Webster’s brain. What happened to Webster’s brain is now called chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE, which is a degenerative disease. This “sickness” is due to the repeated impact of football related concussions. Since the discovery the NFL and all the players have taken serious repercussions in the attempt of lowering the amount of potential concussions. The sport of football might appear dangerous but now the safety measures have been and are still improving.

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Concussions themselves are a controversial topic simply because of their destructive forces on the lives of everyone, ranging from people who tripped and fell a little too hard, to people who make a career of hitting other people as hard as they possibly can. There are many people opposed to the idea of football’s inherent violence, yet advocates of the sport claim that removing the factor of colliding would make a completely different sport that cannot even be called football, which itself has become so ingrained in American society that it practically owns a day of the week from Week One of preseason to the closing seconds of the Superbowl. The fact remains though that if football were to suddenly cease existing, many people would be jobless,

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Anyone who has had a brain injury in the past needs to be aware of the symptoms of CTE, not only for themselves, but also for the people around them. Football causes about ten times the amount of significant brain injuries compared to other popular sports (What). A sport with as much violence as football needs to be taken seriously. Children who are not aware of the consequences and the magnitude of the injuries they can sustain need to be protected.

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The need for players to be checked often should be mandatory and administered more often to keep players safe. As coaches and trainers find out more about concussions so does the testing improve on athletes. Traumatic brain injuries affect all those who play in physical sports. One study says, “They can cause symptoms such as loss of consciousness, confusion, and headache, as well as long-term side effects.” (“Sports-Related”).

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After the death of Mike Webster, a former center in the NFL, Dr. Omalu completed an autopsy on his body. He ordered a brain test that no one would help him pay for, and what he discovered was outstanding. Uncovering the truth about brain damage in football players with multiple concussions in typical games, Dr. Omalu researched many other football players who had passed away. Dr. Bennet Omalu is the first to discover CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and has placed him at dangerous feud with the National Football League. Many individuals probably viewed an NFL game and seen a head-to-head tackle.

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