Author Topic: Aaron Hernandez Found to Have Severe CTE  (Read 7811 times)

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Re: Aaron Hernandez Found to Have Severe CTE
« Reply #30 on: September 22, 2017, 09:59:10 AM »

Offline Beat LA

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I'd love to hear CTE discussed more broadly than just in terms of NFL players.  An article I read sited that 110 out of 111 NFL players autopsied have shown evidence of CTE.  I'd love to understand how different that is from a pool of hockey players, soccer players, basketball players, and the general population.

While I'm not sure that CTE applies to basketball - I know that it's a contact sport but rarely do guys suffer head injuries, thankfully - I seem to recall hearing that soccer is at least starting to outlaw headers at the junior levels (high school and below, I believe), which, naturally, is during a critical time for brain development, so that's good to see, although I wouldn't quote me on that, but regarding hockey, are you talking about the sport played at the Olympics or boxing on ice, I mean, the NHL? ::) It's surprising to me that we have yet to hear about former players in that league at least showing symptoms similar to CTE given the amount of thuggery routinely put on display.  At least NBA refs try to break things up.  In hockey, they just stand back and let it happen. #OnMyBreak ::)
There are two recorded cases in the NHL: Bob Probert and Reggie Flemming. Although they might as well have just looked at any career boxer instead...

My problem with hockey is not the fighting (you can get rid of that) -- it is that the head could become a target, deliberately or not, on routine plays. Moreover, players likely get subconcussive brain trauma every time they get checked into the boards even on clean plays.

Same thing with soccer and heading the ball. That's been documented a bit better than hockey:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/14/health/brain-damage-dementia-cte-soccer-football-study/index.html

Thanks for the info - TP :).

Re: Aaron Hernandez Found to Have Severe CTE
« Reply #31 on: September 22, 2017, 11:42:07 AM »

Offline PhoSita

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Again I'm wondering why the NCAA doesn't get more of a focus in this, rather than the NFL.

I suppose it's all NFL players who have submitted their brains for this.


To me, the idea that there are people, probably many people, who played football every year from their freshman year of high school through their senior year of college and never even got a college degree, let alone were paid for their services, is much more troubling.  Likely many of those folks have some degree of CTE as well, without the lifetime earnings to go with it.

The NFL makes a lot of money off of their blood sport exhibitions, but so does the NCAA.  So do many high schools in the south.

AND, on top of that, if you suffer brain damage from football in high school or college, when you are not an employee, you cannot later get coverage for your medical bills through workers' comp --- NFL players can.
« Last Edit: September 22, 2017, 03:45:21 PM by PhoSita »
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Re: Aaron Hernandez Found to Have Severe CTE
« Reply #32 on: September 27, 2017, 01:57:34 AM »

Offline tarheelsxxiii

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With this growing CTE issue, did the NFL benefit from the protests on Sunday? Was it a helpful distraction?
« Last Edit: September 27, 2017, 03:31:21 AM by tarheelsxxiii »
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Re: Aaron Hernandez Found to Have Severe CTE
« Reply #33 on: September 27, 2017, 07:26:54 AM »

Offline Celtics4ever

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Quote
To me, the idea that there are people, probably many people, who played football every year from their freshman year of high school through their senior year of college and never even got a college degree, let alone were paid for their services, is much more troubling.  Likely many of those folks have some degree of CTE as well, without the lifetime earnings to go with it.

You think that is bad try soldiers, they are exposed to concussive blasts that are way more damaging than football.   I read this:

Quote
The number of veterans at risk is large: traumatic brain injury caused by explosive blasts is thought to afflict about 20 percent of the 2.3 million servicemen and women deployed in combat since 2001, according to a team of researchers from Boston University, New York Medical College and the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soldier-blast-chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy-cte/

Many more people than in football.  About 460,000 possibly, of course, these guys took an oath to defend their country and knew the risks.   But with IEDs this is a society wide problem to some extent as a new generation of soldier comes home and some of them will never be the same.  But I think the same is true of football, people are not forced to play, they play because they want to play.  Most know their are some health risks to playing football, hence the protective gear.   But there is no helmet, not in the Military, not in sports that can spare the brain from bashing into the other side of the skull when there is a big impact or blast.

I suspect the league has known about this much longer folks there were studies done in 1977 but this paper is a compilation of studies from 77-09.

http://nccsir.unc.edu/files/2014/05/2009FBCATReport.pdf

Re: Aaron Hernandez Found to Have Severe CTE
« Reply #34 on: September 27, 2017, 09:41:43 AM »

Online johnnygreen

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Does every player get a physical before the start of training camp? Are CTE scans part of that process?

It can only be diagnosed post-mortem at this point, they need direct access to the tissue.

Here's a pic of Hernandez' brain tissue they released.



Literal holes in his brain.

What a difference a week can make, as apparently Boston University researchers say that they have developed a way to test living patients for CTE. That is great news, but will the NFL use it? Will the owners or players demand the testing during the next collective bargaining agreement? Or will a third party, like a health insurance provider, need to step in to demand the test in order to play? If a player test positive for CTE, will they still be allowed to play? If a player believes there is a possibility he has CTE and is irreversible, then will he avoid the test and continue to play and make millions to provide for his family? If someone test positive for CTE, are there medication or treatment options available?

Re: Aaron Hernandez Found to Have Severe CTE
« Reply #35 on: September 27, 2017, 10:18:23 AM »

Offline Kuberski33

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NFL and NFLPA will care about this exactly to the extent that it affects their ability to make money.

I see football declining at the high school level in a major way.  School districts concerned about lawsuits and having the resources to monitor CTE are likely to just say screw it - football isn't worth it.  As it is numbers are declining right now due to parents concerns. 

What will end up happening is that in the parts of the country where it's not part of the culture - like MA - there will only be a handful of large schools that continue to offer football.

Long term I can see it hurting the NFL's product and fan interest but its going to take a while.  From a player standpoint, if you have the ability to make good money in something other than football you probably won't play too long but for the guys where their football salary is their only way to make that kind of money during their lifetime - no impact.  They'll keep playing CTE or no CTE.

Re: Aaron Hernandez Found to Have Severe CTE
« Reply #36 on: September 27, 2017, 11:33:40 AM »

Offline fairweatherfan

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Does every player get a physical before the start of training camp? Are CTE scans part of that process?

It can only be diagnosed post-mortem at this point, they need direct access to the tissue.

Here's a pic of Hernandez' brain tissue they released.



Literal holes in his brain.

What a difference a week can make, as apparently Boston University researchers say that they have developed a way to test living patients for CTE. That is great news, but will the NFL use it? Will the owners or players demand the testing during the next collective bargaining agreement? Or will a third party, like a health insurance provider, need to step in to demand the test in order to play? If a player test positive for CTE, will they still be allowed to play? If a player believes there is a possibility he has CTE and is irreversible, then will he avoid the test and continue to play and make millions to provide for his family? If someone test positive for CTE, are there medication or treatment options available?

I saw that. If it is fact a valid test - which would probably take years of testing to confirm - then there will be tremendous resistance to using it routinely. The teams don't want to know because of the massive liability issues knowing would create, and a lot of the players probably don't want to know because it would make them have to reconsider playing. Individuals would use it but it would probably take a collective bargaining fight to make it anything close to mandatory.