Chronic Traurcephalopathy (CTE)

The NFL has hidden the risks associated with playing the sport for years. One event that helped spark awareness was with Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist, who was the doctor that discovered the condition football players expose themselves to through repetitive jolts to the brain. It is called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE. He discovered it while performing an autopsy on an ex-NFL player who was fairly young, much too young to be in as bad of shape as he was. The NFL did what they could to deny the true dangers of playing football and since this finding emerged, a lot more truths have been rearing its ugly head.

Among the terms of the agreement is that the settlement is not to be regarded as an admission of guilt by the league." The NFL knows of the dangers the players are in. The rules change but the equipment increased. Without more or better equipment the players are still in danger. In a PBS Frontline documentary about injuries in football Dr. Robert Stern said," In football, one has to expect that, almost every play of every game and every practice, they're going to be hitting their heads against each other. That's the nature of the game. Those things seem to happen around 1,000 to 1,500 times a year. Each time that happens, it's around 20 g or more. That's the equivalent of driving a car at 35 miles per hour into a brick wall." The players in the NFL know the risk of playing but it is up to the NFL to make the sport safe for the players. Many people may argue that since the players know the risk and they are paid for their athletic performance is ok. However you cannot put a price on a person health. There is no way of rationalizing the behavior of the NFL. Yes, the athletes are paid to perform, but it is up to the NFL to make the sport safer. The NBA has increase rules and is aggressively making the sport less physical. In a Radio interview with XTRA 910 a Phoenix, AZ, Former NBA player, Robert Horry said, "… If you

These lawsuits represented over 2,000 former players claiming that the NFL didn 't teach them the dangers of a concussion. On August 29, 2013, over a year after the lawsuits were filed, there was an agreement between the NFL and the players; the NFL agreed to pay $765 million to pay for medical examinations, compensation for the concussed athletes, and research towards concussions. Just as the NFL thought the lawsuits were over, on January 14, 2014, the agreement was declined by a federal judge because the judge believed that $765 million was not enough money (“NFL Concussion”). These lawsuits over the issue of concussions prove that the athletes have experienced a multitude of medical issues that resulted from multiple concussions. These former athletes are working hard to ensure that young athletes do not have to suffer like they do.

Billions of dollars have been spilled into concussion research. One thing that has been proven through this research is that football players face the greatest risk of concussions. This includes all sports, even NCAA and NFL football. Helmets nowadays all have a warning that reads similar to: NO HELMET SYSTEM CAN PROTECT YOU FROM SERIOUS BRAIN AND/OR NECK INJURIES INCLUDING PARALYSIS OR DEATH. TO AVOID THESE RISKS, DO NOT ENGAGE IN THE SPORT OF FOOTBALL. Many people with ties to football argue that the benefits of football significantly outweigh the risks associated. Football people know that concussions can’t be eliminated totally, but they do believe that concussions can be slowed by proper tackling techniques as well as better technology. Even though football may lead to neurodegenerative brain diseases, the benefits of football far and away outweigh these inherited risks.

The NFL is considered a regulator in professional football. Therefore, they have an obligation to … However, the NFL and the NCAA have failed to produce concussion policies. While, the NCAA expects the individual schools to handle … the NFL rejects the notion that football related concussions play a large part in … This type of thinking is what has gotten the league into trouble. The league argues that there is not enough evidence to support … and has treated the problem similar to that of the tobacco company’s denial that cigarettes had bad side effects to a person’s health (Hanna, 2010). The misinformation given to current and former players has resulted in 4500 retired players filing a lawsuit against the league ().

For the first time ever, researchers at UCLA recently have found signs of CTE in living former NFL players. Until now it was only possible to detect CTE after death. The researchers at UCLA discovered a new method of testing for CTE in living people. They tested four retired players for CTE; Joe DeLamielleure, Leonard Marshall, an unnamed player, and most notably, the Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer, Tony Dorsett. So far, the three named players have all

In the article “The NFL Recognizes Brain Damage to Players” the author Lawrence Gable explains that NFL players are experiencing too many concussions. Concussions can lead to suicide and several other mental issues that can affect the NFL players as well as future players. Football players and their families are suing the NFL for 765 million dollars. Gable states, “The NFL has admitted that football is causing permanent damage. Now it must convince the judge that it finally has the players’ best interests at heart” (paragraph 10). This quote shows how football is dangerous and can lead to serious injuries. Some people may believe that the NFL does not care about the players based upon the research Gable provided. The author’s purpose is

In June of 2012 over 2,000 retired NFL players filed a lawsuit against the NFL on the terms of blurring the science of brain trauma (Foster). The retired athletes sued the association due to complications they began to suffer from repetitive head on head collisions in their practices and games that led to brain trauma. In response to the lawsuit, the NFL manipulated its rules but athletes are still at a risk of severe TBIs, or traumatic brain injuries, every time they step on the field. The NFL needs to enforce stricter fouls for head-on-head collisions, more preventative equipment, improved coaching techniques for tackles, and educational head-injury courses in order to decrease the amount of brain trauma and fatalities in the players.

The NFL is a multi-billion dollar company that has neglected to compensate its past and current employees that have acquired long-term brain damage while performing their jobs. Their incompetence has caused severe brain damage and even death to former employees because of their irresponsible ways over the past forty years. The science and study of this problem has produced a great amount of information that both sides could benefit from but the NFL needs to take action and responsibility.

In the original lawsuit against the NFL it had been included as a centerpiece issue, and Steven F. Molo, a lawyer for past NFL players, has argued that they left out a crucial problem in the case. With this settlement, it would resolve thousands of dollars in lawsuits over the next 65 years. In addition, the lawsuit settlement would cover over 20,000 retirees from the NFL. Experts estimate that of the 6,000 past professional football players, three in 10 will be at higher risk for moderate dementia and Alzheimer's. On average, they will receive $190,000, but we have seen more serious cases that reached into several million dollars. These cases usually include young players who developed Lou Gehrig's disease or Parkinson's disease as a result of their NFL career.

The Nfl has implemented new rules and standards, such as fines for unclean hits and concussion protocol, in hopes to lower the chances of concussions occurring. More safety precautions are being taken now to help athletes and now more medical attention is being given to ensure athletes are healed from any head injuries they sustained. Athletes should be educated on concussions and head injuries to prevent them from hurting themselves and so they are aware of the signs and symptoms of a concussion to ensure their safety. In all efforts all injuries are inevitable and are bound to happen no matter what rules and measures are taken. A hit during a game may not kill you but multiple hits and concussions can have a lifetime

The NFL (National Football League) rakes in more than nine billion dollars annually. It earns most of this revenue from the millions of fans that love the sport of football as well as the countless sponsors that help fund it such as Gatorade, Pepsi, Visa, Xbox, Verizon, and McDonald’s (NFLPA, “Current Sponsors”). However, this funding could be in jeopardy. The NFL has disregarded the dangers of concussions and continues to do so. As a result, a class-action lawsuit by thousands of former NFL players is currently being undertaken

In today’s world, the big-name people are making the headlines saying how they didn’t know the risk of long term injuries while playing the game. In the article of Health at Iowa University they say that there are more than 2,000 former NFL players that are suing the league because of long term affect from

Most NFL players are signed up to a contract where they are guaranteed a signup fee and there take of cash they would get. But for instance they sign up for 7 million over 5 years he will never they will never get that much after they get payed that most of the money will go to tax payers partners and there accounts leaving them

Many people believe the NFL should stay out of the player’s personal lives. What goes on in the player's life should not matter, as long as they are giving a phenomenal performance during practice and the playoffs. Opposingly , others believe the NFL should get involved in the players´ lives, along with punishing them for their first arrests.