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Medical breakthrough prompts talk of testing active NHLers for CTE

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‘Paid to Give Concussions’

The MMQB screened Will Smith’s upcoming drama Concussion with 70 former NFL players. For some, it was a panic-inducing horror flick

ATLANTA — Cramped in his seat, the man in the back row of the movie theater cut a hulking silhouette. His knees pressed against the row in front of him, and every time he dug into his bag of popcorn, his leather jacket brushed against the adjacent chairs. He was otherwise quiet, at least for the first 90 minutes.

Then panic set in.

First, he breathed heavily. Then he rubbed his thighs.

“I can’t do this,” he said, huffing. “I can’t do this.”

He gulped for air. The woman accompanying him rubbed his back, trying to soothe him. The movie, in its own way a horror flick, had just become very personal. “I can’t do this,” the man said as the screen showed tight-angle shots of former NFL star Dave Duerson climbing into bed with a revolver. “I know that guy!”

The hulking man was screening Concussion, the Will Smith drama based on the true story of head trauma in football. As soon as the final credits rolled, the man in the back of the theater—one of 70 former players who saw the film last week—bolted for the exit. His reaction was as chilling as any line delivered by Smith’s character, Dr. Bennet Omalu, the pathologist who discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and became embroiled in a drawn out battle with the NFL.

“I know we were paid to hurt people,” says Keith McCants, the fourth overall pick in the 1990 draft. “We were paid to give concussions. If we knew that we were killing people, I would have never put on the jersey.”

For two hours and three minutes, The MMQB watched Concussion with these former players at a viewing arranged by the NFL Players’ Association. (The movie opens nationwide on Christmas Day.) Ken Parker, treasurer of the NFLPA Atlanta chapter, told the group beforehand, “We don’t endorse the film, we just knew it would be of interest to former players. So here it is. But as you watch, remember, knowledge is power.”

Many of the former players have participated in lawsuits alleging that the NFL concealed the risks of concussions. Audible gasps swept through the theater anytime Omalu mentioned the ages of Mike Webster, Terry Long, Justin Strzelczyk, Andre Waters and Duerson, who all died younger than 50. One former player booed Roger Goodell (played by Luke Wilson) the first time he appeared on screen. A few men buried their heads each time Omalu approached an autopsy table.

“It was difficult to watch, but a good difficult,” said Danny Buggs, a Giants and Redskins wideout from 1975-79.

Keith McCants, the fourth overall pick in the 1990 draft, drove six hours from Tampa to see the movie. When he exited the theater, he retreated to a bench in the lobby. Tear-soaked, the 47-year-old former linebacker hovered over his cane. “This touched my soul,” he said. “It was outstanding, but I can’t process it all, not right now. I watch this movie and I know we were paid to hurt people. We were paid to give concussions. If we knew that we were killing people, I would have never put on the jersey.”

“When you watch that movie,” said Terry Bolar, who played three seasons before becoming an agent in 1992, “you see how much the NFL resembles tobacco companies.”

“During the time we were playing, there were a lot of things we didn’t know,” said Chris Goode, a Colts cornerback from 1987-93. “Now a lot of the information is out there. So if you’re playing the game, you know things. The information is out there, with or without this movie. What the movie might do is open the public’s eyes to what is going on. The public has been lagging behind.”

Concussion is based on Jeanne Marie Laskas’s GQ article “Brain Game” from 2009, which painted a picture of the NFL actively undermining Omalu’s findings to protect its business interests. Many of the same issues were also covered in the PBS Frontline documentary League of Denial. What Concussion does best is simplify the degenerative brain disease CTE for the masses. In one scene, Omalu explains how a woodpecker can violently use its head as a battering ram and not suffer injury: its tongue wraps from the back of it mouth, around the skull and through the nostril—a safety belt, if you will, that absorbs the shock and protects the brain. The human brain has no such safety belt.

“I’ve heard so many doctors discuss brain injuries, but that example was so clear to me,” said Greg Anderson, whose husband, Taz, was a tight end for the Cardinals and Falcons from 1961-67. “Nature protects the woodpecker, but it doesn’t protect us. It’s like God didn’t intend for us to play football.”

Greg Anderson sat a few rows from the screen. (“My father always wanted a boy,” she said. “Hence the name, and why I love the sport so much.”) Her husband has had 41 surgeries since college—one for each year of their marriage. His back went first, then his knees, elbows, and his heart. Yet his brain has proved to be the most troublesome. For the past 10 years, Taz has visited specialists while battling mild cognitive impairment. He forgets things. His speech has slowed. He’s often aloof.

His wife sobbed through the entire film. “Of course, we won’t know if he has CTE until he has an autopsy,” she said matter-of-factly. “Taz has had friends who had CTE and killed themselves. He may have Alzheimer’s, he may have more.”
Bears wideout Willie Gault tries to elude Patriots cornerback in Super Bowl XX.

Willie Gault, the Bears and Raiders wide receiver from 1983-93, has screened the movie twice in L.A., once with writer/director Peter Landesman.

“Every single football player in this country—NFL, college, high school, youth—needs to see this movie,” Gault said. “If I had seen it while I was a player, I think I still would have played football. But I would have played it differently. I would have had a different mindset.”

Outside the theater in Atlanta, Taz Anderson and his wife shifted their conversation to football’s next generation.

“We’ve been around this game a long time,” Taz said. “I played when they didn’t even sod the infields. We were soldiers. We were tough guys.”

“Well, isn’t that the point of it?” his wife said of the movie. “You can play tough, but you can’t protect yourself?”

“I suppose,” Taz said.

“But here’s the thing,” she said, setting up a sudden twist. “We love this game so much. We built our life on this sport. The harder the hit, the more we like it. We have a grandson who plays. He’s 7. After seeing this movie, I should probably go call his parents and say he shouldn’t play anymore. But I can't do that. Isn’t that awful? I’d rather roll the dice.”

https://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/12/09/nfl-retired-players-watch-react-to-concussion-movie-will-smith
 
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NFL Finally Admits There's A Link Between Football Injuries And CTE
This is the first time a top league official has acknowledged football injuries are linked to the brain disease.

A top health official with the National Football League has finally acknowledged a link exists between football-related head trauma and degenerative brain diseases like chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

This is the first time such a high-ranking league official has acknowledged the link.

Jeff Miller, the NFL's executive vice president of health and safety policy, made the admission during a Monday roundtable discussion on concussions held by the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Energy & Commerce.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) directly asked both Miller and Ann McKee, director of the neuropathology core at Boston University's Alzheimer’s Disease Center, if a link exists.

"I want to ask what I think is a yes or no question," Schakowsky said. "Do you think there is a link between football and brain disorders like CTE?"

"The answer to that question is certainly yes," Miller said, adding he thought there were still "a number of questions that come with that."

Schakowsky pressed him for an even more direct answer, noting, "That was not the unequivocal answer three days before the Super Bowl by Dr. Mitchel Berger." She was referring to the University of California, San Francisco doctor who leads the NFL's Head, Neck and Spine Committee.

The Congressional interest in CTE is rooted in its impact on veterans, many of whom suffer traumatic brain injuries as a result of being blasted by improvised explosive devices during combat.

CTE has been diagnosed in 87 out of 91 former NFL players who chose to donate their brains for research after their death, and it continues to spark debates on the fate of the game's future at all levels, from the Pop Warner Junior leagues to the pros.

CTE is a degenerative disease that’s similar in some ways to Alzheimer's disease, but differs from other brain diseases in that it's neither a brain injury nor cumulative, Robert Stern, director of clinical research for Boston University's Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, previously told The Huffington Post.

CTE can only be diagnosed after death by examining the brain. Symptoms vary, but can include cognitive impairment in memory and multitasking; mood problems like depression and apathy; behavior changes like aggression and impulse control; and, most rarely, motor problems like body tremors or difficulty making facial expressions.

Less than two weeks ago, soccer legend Brandi Chastain pledged to donate her brain to research, a move that brought new attention to how the disease -- largely studied in American football players and boxers -- affects women athletes and youth players.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entr...r=Canada&section=ca_canada&utm_hp_ref=canada&
 
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Family of pro bull rider Ty Pozzobon to donate his brain for research

In a heartfelt and generous contribution by the family of a rodeo superstar, Ty Pozzobon‘s brain will be donated to scientific research in the hopes it will provide a window to better understand traumatic brain injuries.

The talented bull rider was discovered unresponsive in Merritt, B.C. on Monday morning.

The 25-year-old had been suffering from symptoms of concussion injuries and depression, according to family and friends.

A Vancouver-based research team studying the impacts of concussions and brain injuries made the arrangements with the help of the Pozzobon family.

“We are grateful to be working with the Pozzobon family to better understand the underlying correlation between (TBI) traumatic brain injury, concussions and depression that we understand Ty had been struggling with,” said Sandy Price, a representative with Nucleus Bio.

“We are pursuing groundbreaking initiatives by working with leading experts, scientists, medical professionals, and medical centres to advance the ability to image, diagnose, and track traumatic brain injury through the cascade of events that may led to chronic traumatic encephalopathy,” Price said.

https://globalnews.ca/news/3180742/...ty-pozzobon-to-donate-his-brain-for-research/
 

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Joined Oct 6, 2014
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Family of pro bull rider Ty Pozzobon to donate his brain for research

In a heartfelt and generous contribution by the family of a rodeo superstar, Ty Pozzobon‘s brain will be donated to scientific research in the hopes it will provide a window to better understand traumatic brain injuries.

The talented bull rider was discovered unresponsive in Merritt, B.C. on Monday morning.

The 25-year-old had been suffering from symptoms of concussion injuries and depression, according to family and friends.

A Vancouver-based research team studying the impacts of concussions and brain injuries made the arrangements with the help of the Pozzobon family.

“We are grateful to be working with the Pozzobon family to better understand the underlying correlation between (TBI) traumatic brain injury, concussions and depression that we understand Ty had been struggling with,” said Sandy Price, a representative with Nucleus Bio.

“We are pursuing groundbreaking initiatives by working with leading experts, scientists, medical professionals, and medical centres to advance the ability to image, diagnose, and track traumatic brain injury through the cascade of events that may led to chronic traumatic encephalopathy,” Price said.

https://globalnews.ca/news/3180742/...ty-pozzobon-to-donate-his-brain-for-research/


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