RealGM

So this article was on the front page of the NFL forum:

http://football.realgm.com/wiretap/35426/87-Of-91-Former-NFL-Players-Test-Positive-For-Brain-Disease

It doesn't say very much about the study, just that 87 of 91 players test positive for brain disease, CTE. Did anyone think the problem was that severe? What can the NFL, and football leagues in general, do about it? If the numbers are accurate, it's a bigger problem than I imagined.

I think it was pretty obvious that the problem was that big, it's just that the NFL has done a lot better job at the damage control up until the last 2-3 years.

You could see by the small sample size of guys passing away/taking their lives in that span of time making the condition a prevalent issue. It's just unfortunate for a lot of the older generations of guys who played in the 60s/70s/80s who have already passed away that won't have their brains studied.

The question is whether they can fix it or will this eventually be the end of football. How can parents let their kids play football knowing brain damage is inevitable?

Not trying to take away from the severity of the issue, but this was a biased study. All the guys tested in the study reported chronic headaches prior to being considered for the sample.

I don't buy it, Roger Goodell says it's not an issue. He doesn't lie.

Worm Guts wrote:The question is whether they can fix it or will this eventually be the end of football. How can parents let their kids play football knowing brain damage is inevitable?

This is what I was thinking. When my kids are old enough, can I let them play football knowing this is the potential outcome?

The Regime wrote:Not trying to take away from the severity of the issue, but this was a biased study. All the guys tested in the study reported chronic headaches prior to being considered for the sample.

Yea I read that too. The problem probably isn't as big as the study suggests. Still though, 87 out of any number is a lot.

Worm Guts wrote:The question is whether they can fix it or will this eventually be the end of football. How can parents let their kids play football knowing brain damage is inevitable?

Much to the chagrin of die hard fans, they can fix it to some degree. Doing so will take away a lot of what we have always loved about football though. It won't be the end of football right away, but it's something to watch over the next generation or two. Look at boxing. Boxing used to be a major sport in this country just one generation ago. Granted, the NFL is run about a trillion times better than boxing, but as big money becomes available in other sports like soccer, fewer of our best athletes will be drawn to football and it will suffer an attrition of talent.