Over the years, I glanced at the stories about retired players suffering from dementia and even killing themselves. But I told myself the same thing most other hard-core fans do: that the players are adults who choose to compete and are lavishly compensated. Then, last summer, everything changed.
That our culture encourages this sport above all others (and even academics) is a sad commentary on our anti-intellectualism. I can just hear Chef, from Southpark, singing "Come on kids, bang your heads together, now!" while Cartman beats his face into a bloody pulp, wearing a shit-eating grin. Not that Southpark is the pinnacle of intellect, it's just the first vehicle of irony that sprung to mind.The researchers in this case placed sensors in the helmets of two dozen high school players. They were hoping to gauge the effect of concussions on brain function. What they found was that even kids who never suffered concussions were showing drastically reduced brain activity by the end of the season.
b_b -do hockey players suffer from the same type of statistics that NFL players do regarding post career health problems? Do they end up with brain injuries because of the hits against the boards etc.? If not, is this because the NHL is better at publishing such things as dirty hits etc? I am only a casual observer of the NFL, but I do love hockey. From what I can gather, hockey players are far more hard on each other in regards to self policing against dirty players. In the NFL it seems more celebrated to take someone out no matter what and in the NHL there seems to be a code among players. I think I am probably over romanticizing the sport of hockey in regards to their code of ethics…
There are a number of famous cases of players having their careers shortened due to concussions. Eric Lindros is the poster child for that. However, hockey is much less violent that football. CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which produces dementia and other symptoms), isn't well understood yet, but it seems to result from repeated blows to the head. NFLers are hitting each other every play for the whole game, not to mention practice, and all the hitting they've gone through growing up. It's not really comparable to other team sports in terms of violence. That said, both USA Hockey and Hockey Canada are trying their best to limit head contact to youth players. Each has raised the minimum checking age from 11 to 13 in recent years. There are positives and negatives to that decision, but I get why they did it, and I generally support it. There is a debate about fighting in the NHL right now, as it seems like the players who have had the most health problems are fighters (Bob Probert and Erik Boogaard, e.g.). It's a legit debate, and I don't really know where I stand on it. The NHL could certainly survive with a much more limited amount of violence; I'm not sure what the NFL's options are, as violence is inseparable from the game of football.
It's pretty similar to rugby, and I don't think rugby players get injured the way football players do. I'd bet that getting rid of football players' pads and helmets would change the kind of violence we see on the field.It's not really comparable to other team sports in terms of violence.
All of that makes sense. I was talking with a guy from Philadelphia the other day about Eric Lindros. Man, that guy was supposed to be the second coming… It's a shame. I'm not sure where I stand on the fighting either. On one hand, it's extremely exciting to watch and I would guess that most players would agree. Still, it's not why I watch hockey and I'd still love the sport even if it were gone. Does Probert have CTE problems? Man, that guy probably gave people CTE. He was a beast. You're right about the NFL, where can they go? Flag football?
Probert died of a heart attack likely due to cocaine abuse. The rumors are that his behavior was erratic and he suffered from depression, and may have had other symptoms consistent with CTE. His brain was examined postmortem, and they determined he did, in fact, have CTE.