The source I have chosen for this research task is Ward, Williams and Manchester’s influential New York Times article about the neuropathologist, Dr Anne McKee’s intensive study on the brains of 202 deceased American Football players (Ward, Williams and Manchester, 2017). 110 of which were found to have CTE, a progressive disease linked to repeated shocks to the head. The article received critical acclaim and was the talking point during of a lot of NFL board meetings and discussions throughout the media. With the NFL receiving so much scrutiny about the safety and well-being of its athletes, they were pressured into releasing a lengthy statement on the topic stating that “The NFL is committed to supporting scientific research into CTE and …show more content…
Distinguishing whether a text would better off with direct quotes strung throughout its entirety, or simply summarizing an interviewer’s manuscript, depends solely on the articles purpose. Whether it be to provide context on a certain event, offering an opinion on a recent incident or simply being veracious and telling it without any bias. As the source, I am using aims to administer awareness on the topic of sporting concussions and preventions, verbatim quoting is the best option. Although, summarizing and paraphrasing allows for a greater interpretation of contextual ideas and it gives the audience another well-informed perspective on an issue that may be of great interest to them, even though the information put forward may not be of great truth. As well as this, summarizing and paraphrasing is better than direct quotes especially when a lot of the information is general knowledge or when the basis of the text is about stats and figures. The article “110 NFL Brains”, uses an extensive amount of secondary references from Dr Anne McKee’s study as well as information from the families of these athletes. Though much of the information is portrayed as direct text, a number of graphs and charts ae used, particularly at the beginning of the article to entice readers before delving into the whole piece. These references, I believe were the best choice for the topic as they enhanced the
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
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.
This article portrays how playing football can cause negative long term effects on your body. Frontline reported on numbers from the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University, where researchers studied the brains of 165 people who played football at the high school, college, or professional level. They found evidence of CTE in 131 of them—79 percent. Of the brains studied, 91 of them belonged to former NFL players, and 87 of those 91 (96 percent) had signs of CTE. In an attempt to further reduce concussions some teams are considering adopting a tackling style similar to that of rugby, where players
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy also known as C.T.E is a degenerative brain disease found in athletes, military veterans, and others with repetitive brain trauma (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2017). The Editorial Board wrote the article “The Scars From ‘Bell Ringing” Football Tackles,” publish July 29, 2017 in the New York Times, the Board argues that C.T.E is linked to football with the research help of Dr. Ann McKee. The Board uses pathos and logos effectively but when it comes to ethos, they do not build up their credibility.
CTE affects many different athletes all over the world. Chronic Traumatic encephalopathy or normally referred to as CTE is a brain disease that affects people who have had multiple head injuries. It is found in many cases of ex NFL players who took many hits to the head when playing over their careers. There are many documented cases of it across other sports and some military veterans as well. We have made large strides in learning more and more about the terrible disease. The game of football has changed since we have learned so much more about the terrible disease in recent years. We could prevent concussions by changing the way players practice.
Of the 1,696 players, 271 players suffered a concussion through the first day of practice to the Super Bowl. That is roughly twelve percent of NFL players suffering a concussion in this latest season. In all of the articles researched, the authors have mentioned CTE, which has been stated as a fact after multiple traumatic brain injuries. With the mentions of CTE addresses the suicides of Junior Seau, Frank Gifford, and many other players who played back in the time with less rules and notifications of players having head and neck injuries.
Football is one of the most popular sports in the United States and has brought the talk of concussions into the spotlight. A movie was recently created called Concussion to raise public awareness and educate its viewers on the seriousness and severity of head trauma that occurs in the NFL. In total, there are 1,696 players in the NFL, which reported 271 concussions in 2015 alone.1 Concussions have become an important issue because it leads to the condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is also known as CTE, and in recent years the National Football League settled a lawsuit that was brought on by 4,500 former players for concussion-related injuries.2 CTE has been diagnosed in
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.
Over the past couple of years, there has been a growing concern for NFL player’s safety and the amount of concussions occurring over the past years. A concussion is a type of mild traumatic brain injury that may be caused by either a fall; a direct blow to the head, face, or neck; or a blow elsewhere on the body that transmits force to the head (JAAPA). There has been a high attention directed towards concussions in many sports, but mainly football. The purpose of the research I will be conducting is to educate the players, coaches, and future players of the NFL on ways to prevent concussions. Several topics I will touch upon my research topic are how concussions associate with musculoskeletal injuries, how long a player should be sidelined before returning to play, the amount of research that has been done to prevent concussions, how teammates can have an effect on whether a player continues playing through a concussion or if they take the safe route, how coaches who are educated annually on concussions can decrease how bad a concussion is and ways coaches have been educated in the past and how effective that method was. I will specifically be paying attention to what is known and what other ways can the members of the NFL be educated on concussions. I want to know what they know and what steps are they taking towards preventing concussions. I also want to know what damage does it cause to the brain over time.
Football has been in the spotlight after many suicides and even murders. The National Football League (NFL) has been the cause of 87 cases of CTE. (“New”, 2015). Many of these cases were hidden from the public by the NFL. It was only until a doctor, by the name of Bennet Omalu, took on the NFL. The recent movie “Concussion” starring Will Smith showed how Dr. Omalu found the disease. Dr. Omalu is the reason why the NFL has started taking preventive measures for this disease. Dr. Omalu recently stated that 90% of all NFL players have CTE. Many players have retired from their football careers because of the fear they have for this disease. Jovan Belcher’s case was one of the worst. Belcher was a standout linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs. On December 1, 2012 he shot and killed his girlfriend. Belcher then drove to the Chiefs training facility where he shot and killed himself in front of the general manager and head coach. His autopsy had revealed that he had CTE at the age of 25. (“NFL”, 2015). Some star NFL players have also suffered from CTE: Junior Seau died at the age 43, Dave Duerson died at age 50, Andre Waters died at age 44, Chris Henry died at the age of 26, Ray Easterling died at 62. (“The NF.L.s”, 2014). These cases all have two things in common, each player had CTE and each of them committed suicide. There are 82 more cases, just like these, from NFL
As the Friday night lights shine down onto the field, the running back from Washington High School takes a hard hit to the head. He lies on the field motionless as trainers rush over to him. He is diagnosed as having a severe concussions. While there are immediate dangers of having such a concussion, the later effects of such an injury and this student's life in the future are unknown, and potentially life threatening. Studies have extensively concluded that CTE is an undeniable danger in the NFL, as well as in high school students. In order to continue the protection of our athletes and students, the NFL and other leagues will be required to further research of CTE and its effects, as well as continue the development of advanced protective
Facts from the article “CITE” examines how the NFL dealt with the issues of concussions over the years. Beginning with Omalu’s discovery of CTE, the NFL strongly resisted to admitting that multiple head injuries leads to impair cognitive functions. The NFL committee was composed of internal NFL doctors who denied scientific studies claiming of the lack of scientific evidence and causation between repeated head injuries and brain damage. The Congressional Hearing in 2009 criticized NFL’s concussion policy and demanded the committee to take
Did you know that 99% of the dead NFL players had signs of Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) when scientist looked through their brain (Ventras)? Most people wouldn’t know this fact, but scientist do and have known this since 2002. Even though they are making improvements, there is still an alarming rate of concussions happening. This report will discuss who is affected, how it can be prevented, how it is affecting sports today.
In this article, “The End Of Football,” Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass states that football will surely end due to the severe physical and mental health issues that football creates. He writes about the connection between football and brain damage;
While the NFL is putting new rules and regulations on equipment and which type of tackles are allowed, living retired NFL players are found to already have symptoms of CTE (Fainaru, 2013). Through brain scans and research done by UCLA, they have identified proteins in player’s brains that cause CTE, which as Dr. Julian Bailes, co-director or North Shore Neurological Institute said, is the “holy grail” to studying CTE and finding ways to cure and prevent it (Fainaru, 2013). While this is a break through, there is still no cure or way to treat CTE (Fainaru, 2013). But this research also raises questions about CTE and the NFL. Will players be required to be tested for CTE? Can players be denied playing anymore if CTE is found? Will this greatly affect the way that football is currently played? As the research is still being collected, there is still no definite answer to any of those questions, but the NFL has acknowledged the correlations of CTE and concussions caused by playing in the NFL and assures that they will do all they can to help prevent severe brain trauma to their players, including donating $30 million to the National Institutes of Health to conduct further research on CTE (Kroll, 2013).