My Friend's Grandfather, Jim Cadile And Brain Concussions

In the Documentary League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis is about an investigation regarding the serious legal hidden information that the National Football League was keeping from its playing. Thousands of former Football players have claimed that league tried to cover up how football inflicted long-term brain injuries on so many people. This video breaks down and researching the truth on the NFL’s football players concussion crisis.

CTE is a brain disease found in individuals with annals of head trauma. It has specifically been found in athletes with numerous concussions. So far it can only be diagnosed in the deceased, but Dr. Julian Bales and his staff in UCLA have discovered symptoms in living players such as Hall of Famer Anthony “Tony” Dorsett, Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure, and NFL All-Pro Leonard Marshall. CTE can cause memory loss, dementia, depression, suicidal thoughts, cognitive and emotional difficulties (Waldron par 1, 2, 3). Is it a compelling issue? A total of 171 concussions were reported in the NFL in the 2012-2013 season; 88 thus far in the 2013-2014 season (Frontline pt). Those are just numbers in the professional level. There are thousands of kids playing football either in youth, middle school, high school, or college level. The diagnosis is currently in progress, researchers are optimistic this could lead to a legitimate treatment, how to manage, and hopefully a cure. Furthermore, this can also possibly lead to an answer to a connection between football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Junior Seau, Mike Webster, Terry Long, and Justin Strzelczyk (all of whom are dead now) are all men who played in the NFL for an extent period of time. This is not the only thing they have in common. These former players had an uncustomary

Many memories are made in football, but sadly some of the greatest players cannot recall them. The National Football League has been associated with concussions and brain traumas throughout the years, but lately it has been exposed by media and NFL veterans. The league recently “reached a $765 million preliminary settlement with thousands of former players who were suing the league over its treatment of concussions…” (Waldron). Many former players are experiencing the effects of taking hard hits over and over again; they were not properly treated, which makes the injury worse and long term. The concussion issue in the NFL is more prevalent today, because it affects not only the players, but the league as a whole.

Over the past several years, the NFL has faced numerous lawsuits involving former NFL players and their families ranging from negligence, fraud, and wrongful death conspiracy from related head traumas suffered while playing professional football. Several studies have shown that there are long-term and devastating effects on football players who consistently experience concussions during regular season play and practice. There is

A concussion is an injury suffered in the brain of an individual that can affect and alter a person’s ability to perform not only mentally, but physically as well. The New York Daily News reported on one of the finest cases of how serious the NFL is taking the issue on concussions, the current lawsuit that reached a “$765 million settlement reached between the two sides, 18,000 concussion suffer and the NFL” which states causes for important untold information the NFL refused to report to players about the prospective dangers concussions had for their long-term health, though this was later shot down by a federal judge claiming that it was insufficient sum. An NFL player may succumb from thousands of hits to the head playing football all

The documentary, The League of Denial examines the issue of brain injuries in the National Football League. The film devotes most of its attention to the story of Mike Webster, who died at the age of fifty as a result of severe brain injuries suffered throughout his playing career. Webster’s story highlights the devastating effect concussions can have in a short timeframe. Because brain injuries are known to develop quickly it is important that the NFL responds quickly to this concussion crisis. The NFL is the most popular professional sports league in the world: according to Forbes Magazine the NFL generated over $9 billion in revenue this past year. Despite this success the NFL faces a legitimate threat against brain injuries and concussions. Although the NFL is popular, they should still be proactive in their fight against concussions because of the amount of money they generate, the health of their former players, and lastly the willingness of future athletes to play their sport.

The NFL attempted to hide the truth and resolved to a biased decision that was unethical. The most important unethical issue was the lack of clarity for the players involved. The players were uninformed about the risk factors of their career. The NFL did not compensate for the injuries acquired during their career. Lastly, the issue broadens beyond professional football to different sports, even those involving many American youths, who are affected by CTE. The three main concerns led to the ethical question which examines whether or not it is ethical to allow players to continue participating in sports activity that would result in long-term damages to the brain. Facts from journals examine cognitive impairment related to concussions, methods that NFL took to handle the cases, and application of the study results to sports beyond the NFL.

It is the moment football fans live for: the running back brakes through the line and heads up the field only to be sacked moments later. In the time it takes for the crowd to stand and cheer, the running back has forgotten where he is. His struggle to remember the four words he was just given on the sidelines increases every moment. His obvious concussion will keep him from playing for a few weeks but then he will be as good as new and ready to play again, right? But what about the long term affects of his concussion? When Mike Webster died at the age of 50 in 2002 from heart failure, his autopsy showed more than just a heart condition. Dr. Omalu, from the University of Pittsburgh found chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE, which shows atrophy to the brain similar to Alzheimer 's. CTE is a progress degenerative brain disease said to be caused by repetitive brain trauma, such as hard hits in football (Tanaka and Wells). Dr. Omalu 's discovery of CTE has brought up many questions including what is CTE and what are its effects, and did the NFL know about the possibility of CTE and why do they keep denying its existence. Because of Omalu 's discovery CTE and the NFL are in the limelight as players past and present worry if they are at risk. As more and more people learn about CTE, the level of urgency to find answers to these questions rises. In response, the NFL and other companies are backing research in hopes of finding ways to prevent and cure CTE, all while learning

Concussions occur daily in a life of an athlete. This can change their lives forever if they have one that is severe. They might get lucky if its minor and they can go back to playing. Concussions are very dangerous in an athletic world, because they can affect their lives even after they retire from playing that sport. These concussions can start off at any age, but the huge problem people are having is pro sports. NFL being one the biggest leagues to have these problems. There are many debates about whether the NFL are being careful enough and understanding how bad these concussions are. There are some people who are trying to help this problem become known to all. They are trying to help fix this situation. There are ways to fixing this

One hard hit to a NFL player’s head can destroy their life. Concussions are a major problem that the NFL has been dealing with for a very long time. As a huge football fan, I have a special interest with this issue. When concussions were first identified as a problem, they were extremely down played. People thought that injuries to knees and backs were much worse than a concussion. What they did not know was that a concussion is lethal and can cause serious consequences. After this was discovered, the NFL started to take steps to improve the safety of players, but for some, it was far too late. Concussions that NFL players receive are negatively impacting their lives after their career, due to Chronic

In the sports world today, there are many different injuries that athletes experience and one of the most devastating injury is a concussion. Concussions can happen to anyone, in any sport, but we tend to see most concussions in contact sports (Świerzewski 1). While having an informal conversation with my dad about football, he told me it was common for athletes to receive a head injury in a game and continue to play as if nothing was wrong. While watching SportsCenter, I found that some of the greatest retired athletes don’t remember the best moments of their careers due to the lack of treatment. The worst aspect of concussions is that the symptoms can be delayed; in some cases, it’s only a headache so athletes don’t seek medical treatment. Multiple concussions over time can lead to life-threatening complications due to the damage they cause to the brain. Concussions can happen to anybody at anytime, but there is more to concussions than meets the eye.

After his retirement, he was suffering from amnesia, depression, and dementia. He lived out in his old pickup truck and died of heart attack at the age of 50. The problem was that after the examination, I did not find any abnormalities of the brain whatsoever. I decided to do a self-financed, independent research and analysis of his brain tissue. It costed me a fortune, but it did pay off and I did make a startling discovery. Mike Webster suffered from a degenerative brain disease which I later named CTE. After I presented my discovery to the public, many fans loathed me and I was officially fighting a war against the NFL. In June of 2007, I was invited to a NFL concussion summit and I was planning to present a medical paper I had written back in 2005 on CTE. When I arrived at the summit, I was informed that I wasn’t allowed to speak. I was really disappointed, but Julian Bailes a friend who also assisted me in the discovery of CTE, presented the paper. Unfortunately the paper was turned down and the committee said that there’s not enough evidence and our research was fallacious. Despite the NFL’s denial, I continued to push forward and put more effort into examinations on former players, which costed a lot of money and time. I performed further autopsies on Terry Long, who played eight seasons in the NFL, and Justin Strzelczyk, who played nine seasons and passed away at just the age of 36. Both of these players suffered similar

People are beginning to blame the NFL and football leagues for their concussion. The NFL has been set afire over the past few years. Former players are beginning to sue the league because of concussions they have received throughout the years for playing. There are 4,500 ailing retirees who, in 2011, sued the NFL over a perceived negligence to warn them of the sports risks. In return that cost the National football league $765 million dollars. So, over the next 65 years, all retired NFL players can receive baseline medical exams, educational services and a payout formula based on illness and age. This lead a spark to college football players who in return have filed lawsuits against the NCAA (National College Athletic Association) for concussions they allegedly sustained as student players.

The NFL took 61 years to acknowledge the dangers of concussions (“A Timeline of Concussion Science and NFL Denial”). The question that was on everyone’s mind was why did it take the NFL to address this growing problem? Another question that arose was why they chose a member of their Brain Injury Committee who seemed to

Science says concussions are inevitable; 96 percent of all NFL players and 79 percent of all football players test positive for brain disease (Source: Frontline League of Denial 9/18/15 Concussion Watch Article). Prior to 2002, the NFL’s approach to preventing, treating, and managing concussions and CTE was very different than it is today. My essay will explore what some of those differences were and whether or not changes in the NFL are improving the outcomes and quality of life for current and former NFL players.