The NFL is America’s most popular professional sport, but yesterday another temblor, shaking the game to its roots, occurred when professional American footballer Chris Borland announced his retirement from the game over fears of receiving brain damage if he continues:
At age 24, not even yet in his prime as an NFL player, Borland told his team he was retiring because he was worried about the long-term effects of head trauma.
“I just honestly want to do what’s best for my health,” he told ESPN. “From what I’ve researched and what I’ve experienced, I don’t think it’s worth the risk. … I’m concerned that if you wait (until) you have symptoms, it’s too late.”
He had suffered some minor concussions; he wanted out before more piled up. That head trauma has been tentatively blamed in the suicides of Shane Dronett (age 38), Junior Seau (age 43), and others. Given the violent nature of the sport, I don’t see how to modify it to remove the damage that occurs over time, unless helmets are improved drastically; current helmets appear to give little protection to certain types of impacts, according to the American Academy of Neurology:
For the study, researchers modified the standard drop test system, approved by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, that tests impacts and helmet safety. The researchers used a crash test dummy head and neck to simulate impact. Sensors were also placed in the dummy’s head to measure linear and rotational responses to repeated 12 mile-per-hour impacts… The study found that football helmets on average reduced the risk of traumatic brain injury by only 20 percent compared to not wearing a helmet.
While we’re a long way to seeing the NFL knocked off its pedestal, much less its actual abolition, this serious concern seems like a real problem due to the difficulty inherent in preventing it; dealing with it through treatment seems like second rate approach. I stopped watching football on a regular basis for precisely this reason; I resumed after Dad died because he’d always enjoyed a good game, and I felt like it honored him to do so.
Litigation over concussions in the NFL may be found on the NFL Concussion Litigation website, where they also take an interest in other sports. Headcase contributes statistical support for many sports (but my favorite, Olympic style fencing, is not listed), with football, boy’s hockey, and girl’s soccer are the top three, while the Sports Concussion Institute has the facts on just what happens during a collision.
In Minnesota (my location), coaches and referees of high school sports are supposed to be trained on concussion treatment. Since I occasionally referee fencing tournaments, I took the course, but I think I need a refresher.
