Omalu: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

Rhetorical Analysis Essay: Gay Culverhouse Concussions have become a high priority head injury at all levels of football, but is being spotlighted on the National Football League (NFL) and a well-known issue among retired players who are now suffering the long-term effects of their years as football players. Today when we see a famous football player our attention is on the six figure contracts, million dollar houses, and fast cars. We don’t see the enormous pressure these players are put under and the hardships they put their bodies through every day so their families are taken care of for the rest of their lives. Gay Culverhouse, the former owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has become an activist for former players through her book, Throwaway Players: The Concussion Crisis: From Pee Wee Football to the NFL. The book is filled with emotionally pulling stories and tons of statistics.

“This sport will never die, but it will never again be, as it was until recently, the subject of uncomplicated national enthusiasm.” This thesis statement introduces us to the basis of what this article sets out to convey. Football is a tradition that is loved by America, but previously lacked the issue of concern that it does now. The most concerning issue that the author is talking about is chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. Caused by multiple head injuries, over a span of time, this disease results in atrophy of the brain, mood disorders, and dementia. The hidden damage caused by these injuries is taken into consideration when deciding to play football, however it is believed that this risk will deter players from joining in

In this article, the writer gives examples of situations where concussions have occurred and ended sports careers. It also gives an overview of what a concussion is and how it happens. It mentions that concussions need to be given adequate time to heal to avoid long term problems. There is information about NFL players and other athletes going before congress asking for legislation to help prevent and treat concussions. This article uses pathos in an attempt to reach the reader’s emotions by telling stories about athletes who have had repeated concussions that have ended their sports careers and left them disabled.

After the suicide of NFL player Junior Seau last May and the murder-suicide of Kansas City Cheifs player Jovan Belcher, the issue of head trauma and the long term effects it has on players in the NFL has become a very hot topic in the sports and medical field. While the cause of Belcher’s depression has not been diagnosed as caused by any specific disease, the official diagnosis of what made Seau end his life has been cited as CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) (Zeigler, 2012). CTE is a progressive neurodegenerative brain disease which is caused by repetitive head trauma, such as concussions (SLI, 2012). CTE is known to cause depression, severe mood swings,

On the morning of December first of two thousand and twelve, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher took a .40 caliber gun and shot his girlfriend 22 times inside his master bedroom. He then drove down to Arrowhead Stadium, the Chief’s home stadium, to express his appreciation to his team’s general manager and coach for everything they had done for him, walked away, and then shot himself in the head. This tragic recollection of the murder-suicide case executed by the 25 year old football player paints him as a monstrous and willfully violent man but what if one was to acclaim all of these fatal incidents to too many bumps in the head? Well it has been. Years after this incident, after medical examiners conducted an autopsy on Belcher and they found that his brain showed signs of CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disease caused by repetitive traumatic head injuries, also denoted as concussions. There have been many documented cases where after contact sport athletes experience excessive concussions, they then seem to develop a seemingly new character as they come to be ill fully violent, overtly aggressive, or even deeply depressive. Many times this may lead to the diagnosis of a mental disorder or may end tragically, as in Belchers case, in the death of others and/or the athletes themselves.

It is the moment football fans live for: the running back brakes through the line and heads up the field only to be sacked moments later. In the time it takes for the crowd to stand and cheer, the running back has forgotten where he is. His struggle to remember the four words he was just given on the sidelines increases every moment. His obvious concussion will keep him from playing for a few weeks but then he will be as good as new and ready to play again, right? But what about the long term affects of his concussion? When Mike Webster died at the age of 50 in 2002 from heart failure, his autopsy showed more than just a heart condition. Dr. Omalu, from the University of Pittsburgh found chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE, which shows atrophy to the brain similar to Alzheimer 's. CTE is a progress degenerative brain disease said to be caused by repetitive brain trauma, such as hard hits in football (Tanaka and Wells). Dr. Omalu 's discovery of CTE has brought up many questions including what is CTE and what are its effects, and did the NFL know about the possibility of CTE and why do they keep denying its existence. Because of Omalu 's discovery CTE and the NFL are in the limelight as players past and present worry if they are at risk. As more and more people learn about CTE, the level of urgency to find answers to these questions rises. In response, the NFL and other companies are backing research in hopes of finding ways to prevent and cure CTE, all while learning

The lack of knowledge that the majority of athletes enter the league with causes experts on the NFL’s policies to believe that the front office does not see the injury as a serious problem in the game today. “With the subsequent deaths of several relatively young retired NFL players, the autopsies of their brains, and the newly minted diagnosis chronic traumatic encephalopathy, we know the problem is real” (Carroll). This quotation intensifies the emphasis on the true problem the National Football League seems to be avoiding. Every injury, no matter how small or seemingly unimportant, needs to be addressed. “Even the only game that matters doesn't matter as much as your brain” (Flynn). There is nothing wrong with a person participating in the sport he loves, but when a blow to the head occurs, quick and efficient action must be taken to address the situation at hand. The National Football League and its policies do not suffice in relation to this area of concern. The fact of the matter is that no game, activity, or sport is worth a person’s

Also, the NFL has rejected the whole research by Dr. Omalu and Dr. Mckee because the League is afraid if the documents were leaked it would affect all football players. However, the NFL did a great job in hiding these facts from the media until the Fainaru brothers found them. When the public already knows the side effect of playing football, the NFL tried to support the research in order to make public trust the NFL that they want to help to reduce the number of brain injuries. With the NFL paying $765 million dollars, for the research, this is just another cover up that they are trying to do so that the NFL’s name would not be disgraced for future athletes in 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

A strong willed linebacker accelerates down the football field. He eyes up his opponent- the running back- both men lower their heads, bracing for impact, while helmets crunch, fans roar. Immediately after connecting, the running back 's head feels undeniably different, but at this point in the game, it would cost the team playoff contention if they lose. This man is young, rich, and famous, but little does he know that each concussion he gets brings him one step closer to his own grave. Multiple concussions relating to sports leads to early onset Dementia and CTE, loss of life, changes in how games are played, lawsuits, and even more unsettling concussion facts and statistics.

a degenerative disease that develops over months, years, or even decades of time after repetitive head blows. “An Attempt for One More Appeal in the NFL Concussion Case” says that lawyers for long time NFL running back, Cookie Gilchrist, compiled evidence to counter the league's claims that his CTE was not sustained from playing football. Despite the claims, experts and lawyers helped prove otherwise by looking at records and data. They concluded that after so many years of playing and getting hit, and so many concussions that were reported not including the ones not reported, that that is why he died of CTE. Former players could agree with the findings of private investigators by sharing stories and experiences. After this football took an even bigger shot to its

But recently we’ve also seen and heard more of a disease that is hurting players within the NFL. It’s causing present and former players to file lawsuits against the NFL and Riddell- NFL’s official partner and the largest football-helmet manufacturer. The real issue with concussions is that lives are at stake. This tragic fact become clear in 2006 when former Philadelphia Eagle star Andre Warner committed suicide by shooting himself. Studies on his brain later showed that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). A form of brain damage from repeated blows to the head and results in demetria. This disease was first seen from pathologist Bennet Omalu who tried to spread the awareness throughout football players even though the NFL had tried to block his research and “deny the existence of the disease.”(NFl’s answer to concussions: Sports science) The NFL has now even estimated the one-third of its former players will develop dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or other types of debilitating neurological disorders such as Parkinson”s disease and ALS. But head injuries can be found in young children up to major league players. According to Game Changers Stefan Duma has recorded more than 150,000 head impacts that football players have endured from the age of seven to the Virginia Tech Hokies football team. In The Helmet That Can Save Football professional football players may receive up to 1,500 hits to

Aikman was not alone in his decision to retire early because of concussions, Merrill Hoge and others retired early. Most people know Merrill Hoge as a TV football analyst today. In one very sad case, concussions did lead to the loss of life of one former player. In 2012 Junior Seau took his own life after dealing with severe depression, which is one of the symptoms of CTE. In Seau 's will he donated his brain to research on CTE. Although, the concussion was not the cause of death for Mr. Seau, it did cause the symptoms that led to him taking his own life.

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.

If you play football you’re putting yourself at risk of the Mike Webster disease also Known as the “chronic traumatic” or also known as encephalopathy. Mike Webster was and still is a Steeler hall of famer who’s health outcome at mid-life was an active portrayed in the movie. There are some takeaway message from this significant film, after a career of repeated head brain damage, A person who becomes prone to an entirely experience induced “neurological” disease process that makes the human mind to a strengthen and scary of intense emotional volatility, severe decrease and a disturbing sort of malaise, marked by abandon of society and suicide. A football player must now learn to deal with the with the fact that healthy dose of anxiety and fear of this harsh reality to successfully get use to the sport and evolve his on field performance. How many important concussive and concussive events are needed to activate this horrible disease process? If we can figure out to a pinpoint whether an action has just happened seeing stars after the collision? flunking a mental screen the next day? Does a waiting period of healing help to negate the aftereffects? now presumed. The most