News: Marshawn Kneeland Had Stage 1 CTE

[Hawkeye0202]

I don't have time to get into it right now but this ticks me off. This should. motivate the league to establish a program that evaluates every player once a year.



Moderator Edit: Clicking the tweet will take the reader to Mike Florio's article.

 

[big dog cowboy]

“Unfortunately, I was not surprised to find CTE in the brain of Mr. Kneeland, because we have found this progressive brain disease in nearly half of the athletes we’ve studied who have died before the age of 30,” Dr. Ann McKee, director of the Boston University CTE Center, said.

That's a very disturbing number. Nearly half of those who died before 30? But that's the risk players are willing to take to play contact sports. Until there is a way of diagnosing CTE or reducing the number of impactful contacts to the head this trend will likely continue.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

I don't have time to get into it right now but this ticks me off. This should. motivate the league to establish a program that evaluates every player once a year.



Moderator Edit: Clicking the tweet will take the reader to Mike Florio's article.

Don’t they have something in place? They can only test the brain post death so I mean I’m
Not really sure what can be done. It’s a violent sport and they are trying to make it as safe as possible.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

That's a very disturbing number. Nearly half of those who died before 30? But that's the risk players are willing to take to play contact sports. Until there is a way of diagnosing CTE or reducing the number of impactful contacts to the head this trend will likely continue.

I don’t think people fully know the risks. You kind of feel like oh ok well that’s not gonna be me. But it can. I think a lot of these guys have it or early stages of it before they even get to the NFL. I’m 99.9 percent sure Cam Skattebo has despite him thinking it’s a myth.

 

[LouBrown]

The league isn't going to start testing for CTE (I don't think you even can) because it would be the end of the league. Most players have CTE already to some degree.

 

[Plankton]

That's a very disturbing number. Nearly half of those who died before 30? But that's the risk players are willing to take to play contact sports. Until there is a way of diagnosing CTE or reducing the number of impactful contacts to the head this trend will likely continue.

There is no way to reduce the number of impactful contacts to the head and continue to have the sport of tackle football. A number of the issues with brain injury don't have to do with direct contact with the head - it's the recoiling of the head and neck upon any jarring contact as well as contact with the playing surface. The brain is literally smacking into the skull each time that a player is jarred - it's like a yolk inside of an eggshell. Inertia is a real concept.

 

[LouBrown]

There is no way to reduce the number of impactful contacts to the head and continue to have the sport of tackle football. A number of the issues with brain injury don't have to do with direct contact with the head - it's the recoiling of the head and neck upon any jarring contact as well as contact with the playing surface. The brain is literally smacking into the skull each time that a player is jarred - it's like a yolk inside of an eggshell. Inertia is a real concept.

See also: hockey.

 

[CWR]

Don’t they have something in place? They can only test the brain post death so I mean I’m
Not really sure what can be done. It’s a violent sport and they are trying to make it as safe as possible.

It also makes me wonder how many of us "normal" people have some form of cte. I mean we all grew up playing sports and many of us have physical type jobs etc. Im sure ive been concussed 2 or 3 times. Just curious as to how common it actually is or isnt.

 

[CWR]

The league isn't going to start testing for CTE (I don't think you even can) because it would be the end of the league. Most players have CTE already to some degree.

Yeah I dont believe prevention is possible. Truth be told almost every player would still take the risk. Maybe where we really need to make advances is in treating or minimizing symptoms?

 

[LouBrown]

Yeah I dont believe prevention is possible. Truth be told almost every player would still take the risk. Maybe where we really need to make advances is in treating or minimizing symptoms?

Well that's the genesis of the concussion spotter rule, but idk how much that matters.

The link is more to years playing contact sports, so I think the greater solution is banning tackle football early on. It's stupid for 8 year olds to play tackle football.
https://www.espn.com/moresports/story/_/id/23367461/study-finds-youth-football-tied-earlier-cte

 

[DallasEast]

Other input for this topic concerning Boston University, leading CTE researcher, and their relationship with the National Football League (link):

Research on CTE and Concussions Changed the NFL. Experts Say That’s Not Enough
By Doug Most | BU.edu
October 11, 2024

<excerpt>

...In 2016, the league—after reportedly resisting efforts to work alongside BU researchers—acknowledged the link between CTE and football for the first time, with its senior vice president of health and safety policy telling congressional leaders, “I think certainly, based on Dr. McKee’s research, there’s a link, because she’s found CTE in a number of retired football players. I think the broader point…is what that necessarily means and where do we go from here with that information.” That came just after the NFL and the NFL Players Association reached a concussion settlement, promising to make payments to former players and their families if the player was found to have dementia or other brain diseases that could be linked to concussions. So far, the league says it’s paid over $1.2 billion to over 1,600 former players and families.

Even with that progress, McKee, Alosco, and others would argue that in the eight years since the settlement agreement, the league hasn’t gone very far on the playing field with the lessons their research has uncovered. The NFL touts how concussions in pro football are declining year after year as proof of its efforts—important progress, to be sure. But researchers say that’s merely inflating the misperception of CTE by shifting the conversation toward high-impact concussions and away from the real culprit: moderate, repetitive blows to the head...

 

[Risen Star]

Dr. Ann McKee, director of the Boston University CTE Center and chief of neuropathology for the VA Boston Healthcare System, said she was not surprised that Kneeland was diagnosed with CTE.

"We have found this progressive brain disease in nearly half of the athletes we've studied who have died before the age of 30," she said in the statement. "Thanks to the generosity of our brain donor families, we now better understand the earliest stages of CTE, and it is bringing us closer than ever to diagnosing it during life. My team and I are fully dedicated to finding effective treatments and a cure for CTE."

 

[rags747]

When do we see the statistics on people who died before 30 that have CTE that have never played sports?!

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

It also makes me wonder how many of us "normal" people have some form of cte. I mean we all grew up playing sports and many of us have physical type jobs etc. Im sure ive been concussed 2 or 3 times. Just curious as to how common it actually is or isnt.

Great point. How many serial killers or criminals or suicides are getting their brain tested for CTE after they die? Makes you wonder right now it’s only linked to the NFL but this is an example of someone who probably got it prior to the nfl. Chris Henry was another guy who was young but the way they described it it had to be pre nfl.

 

[Redsfan_83]

There are 3 numerals that the NFL cares about, not the 3 letters of CTE.....$$$. They are going head and shoulders promoting gambling, and this has its inherent risks in life for those who partake. From what I have read, about $30 is bet on Football annually, with around $2 billion on the Super Bowl alone. Don't think for a second that Roger and these owners do not capitalize on these figures, nor do they care about the addiction issues gambeling causes

 

[CT Dal Fan]

When do we see the statistics on people who died before 30 that have CTE that have never played sports?!

That's probably impossible to figure out. How many people have gotten hit in the head in normal life? It happens in cars, it happens when things fall, it even happens when people end up having physical altercations. Almost everyone has taken a shot to the head somehow.

When I was a teenager I banged my head really hard on a metal pipe at work by accident. Hurt like hell but had no other symptoms. That was decades ago and it makes me wonder if I might start to develop things as I am now in my late 40s.

 

[HungryLion]

Yeah I dont believe prevention is possible. Truth be told almost every player would still take the risk. Maybe where we really need to make advances is in treating or minimizing symptoms?

Yeah that’s probably the only route they will have. It’s impossible to stop the trauma to the brain.

As another poster said it’s your brain moving around in the skull. I’ve felt my brain move inside my skull playing football during a hard impact before. There’s no stopping it.

If they could develop effective treatment to heal the damage, reduce the symptoms that would be amazing. The NFL and NCAA certainly don’t lack for available funds. So hopefully they can invest money in further research so neurologists can figure out treatment for it.

 

[rambo2]

The league isn't going to start testing for CTE (I don't think you even can) because it would be the end of the league. Most players have CTE already to some degree.

That's correct.

 

[Cowfan75Lives]

And zero proof this had anything to do with his suicide. Ever heard of a thing called depression? No telling what the young man had going on in his life.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

There are 3 numerals that the NFL cares about, not the 3 letters of CTE.....$$$. They are going head and shoulders promoting gambling, and this has its inherent risks in life for those who partake. From what I have read, about $30 is bet on Football annually, with around $2 billion on the Super Bowl alone. Don't think for a second that Roger and these owners do not capitalize on these figures, nor do they care about the addiction issues gambeling causes

Addiction is different. I don’t blame the NfL for people who are addicted to gambling just like I don’t blame them for alcoholics.

I do think the nfl tries to do stuff about CTE it’s just only so much one can do. You have players who think CTE is a myth. You can’t really help those guys.