Olympics 2026 Thread

[billd91]

CTE is one of the main reasons I don't regularly watch NFL anymore. :/

CTE turning up in high schoolers is also why I stopped watching football at all levels.

 

[Scribe]

CTE is one of the main reasons I don't regularly watch NFL anymore. :/

They know what they are signing up for and quite a few players came out when the NFL changed up targeting rules indicating they would rather a concussion, than a blown out knee.

As one who has had several concussions, and both knees (and shoulder, and neck) ruined I know which I would rather have.

 

[Mannahnin]

They know what they are signing up for ...

Theoretically. A lot of these players were raised and groomed into this sport from a young age, and centered their whole lives around it. The average NFL career is about six seasons for those who make an opening day roster, right?

I want to be wary of hypocrisy and I want to honor and respect their autonomy, but these are young folks.

I'm not saying other people can't or shouldn't enjoy watching, but for me it's lost a lot of its joy.

 

[Scribe]

Theoretically. A lot of these players were raised and groomed into this sport from a young age, and centered their whole lives around it. The average NFL career is about six seasons for those who make an opening day roster, right?

I want to be wary of hypocrisy and I want to honor and respect their autonomy, but these are young folks.

I'm not saying other people can't or shouldn't enjoy watching, but for me it's lost a lot of its joy.

I dont deny it can be hard to watch, but its way harder for me to see a guy carted off with a knee, than a guy stumble off with a concussion. Early season is the worst, its a bloodbath of 'season ending injury'.

One of those things is life long impact that hes going to feel, forever, the other MAY lead to some issues later on down the road.

They all wear those puffy hats now in practice, players today know whats up.

EDIT: Speaking of the puffy hats, I coached a guy who ended up playing university ball for 1.5 years. He was enrolled in Math, played O Line. He ended up getting a number of concussions and for a time he said he lost the ability to do higher math, hence the .5 years. He had a special helmet that last half a year, but it didnt help.

We knew decades ago that it messed people up, again look at boxers, this was known for decades.

 

[Deset Gled]

We knew decades ago that it messed people up, again look at boxers, this was known for decades.

It was suppressed for decades.

Book: NFL crusaded against science

The NFL conducted a two-decade campaign to deny a growing body of scientific research that showed a link between playing football and brain damage, according to an excerpt from a new book co-authored by a pair of ESPN investigative reporters.

www.espn.com

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/sports/football/nfl-concussion-research-tobacco.html

And even after successful lawsuits, it still is being suppressed by the NFL as much as they possibly can:

Dave Zirin, Jeff Pearlman have valid criticisms about how NFL media covers CTE

More information is needed so we can fully understand what we're watching when talking about the dangers of CTE in football.

awfulannouncing.com

And we still don't know the extent of the problems:

Study shows rise in suicide rate among NFL players | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Harvard Chan School's Rachel Grashow and Marc Weisskopf discuss the findings of their latest research from the Football Players Health Study.

hsph.harvard.edu

AFAIK, no one is working this hard to cover up injuries from skiing or figure skating.

 

[Scribe]

It was suppressed for decades.

Book: NFL crusaded against science

The NFL conducted a two-decade campaign to deny a growing body of scientific research that showed a link between playing football and brain damage, according to an excerpt from a new book co-authored by a pair of ESPN investigative reporters.

www.espn.com

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/sports/football/nfl-concussion-research-tobacco.html

And even after successful lawsuits, it still is being suppressed by the NFL as much as they possibly can:

Dave Zirin, Jeff Pearlman have valid criticisms about how NFL media covers CTE

More information is needed so we can fully understand what we're watching when talking about the dangers of CTE in football.

awfulannouncing.com

And we still don't know the extent of the problems:

Study shows rise in suicide rate among NFL players | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Harvard Chan School's Rachel Grashow and Marc Weisskopf discuss the findings of their latest research from the Football Players Health Study.

hsph.harvard.edu

AFAIK, no one is working this hard to cover up injuries from skiing or figure skating.

Officially, sure.

Those directly impacted?

You know if you are concussed. Now CTE knowledge may be suppressed, but people who fight, or play ball, get it.

CTE was originally studied in boxers in the 1920s as "punch-drunk syndrome." The term "punch-drunk" was replaced with "dementia pugilistica" in 1937 by J.A. Millsbaugh, as he felt the term was condescending to former boxers.