Using Your Head
The risk vs. reward of playing the violent game of football
“The top of your head is the hardest part of your body.”
— Rick Vice
Third and long, ball on the 40. The brisk wind of late October is cold, but the adrenaline pumping through your veins keeps you warm. Your jersey is grass stained and your body aches with every step. The roar of the crowd blesses your ears like angels waiting at heavens gate. You’ve studied their film and know their tendencies. As the ball is snapped you make your reads and break on the route. The receiver catches the ball and you’ve got a full head of steam coming downhill. There’s nothing quite like the feeling right before a major collision. There’s nothing quite like the feeling after.
There’s a pandemic in America, a football pandemic. You’d be hard pressed to find someone in the U.S who doesn’t have a football team they follow. Annually the NFL brings in about 15 billion dollars, not to mention the economic impact a city has just by having a team. The game is way more than just a “game”, it’s part of American culture. Every little boy dreams of playing in the NFL one day, but what are the consequences of achieving that American glory? After recent studies on the impact football has on ones brain, many former players are questioning whether their time playing was worth the lifetime of brain damage.
In 2016, the NFL acknowledged the link between football and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) for the first time. CTE is a brain disorder caused by repetitive head trauma and has been linked to mood swings, dementia, and suicidal behavior. A study published by the American Medical Association looked at the brains of former NFL players, and of the 111 brains studied — 99% showed signs of having CTE. As more is becoming understood about CTE, many former players have began to speak about about their struggles after leaving the game of football. One such player is Kyle Turley, who since leaving the league after a 9-year career as an offensive lineman has begun experiencing vertigo and episodes of extreme nausea, dizziness, and headaches. In an interview with Malcolm Gladwell, Turley recounts his experience while in the NFL and just how often players feel the effects of a big hits during games.
“Every season, multiple occasions where I’d hit someone so hard that my eyes went cross-eyed, and they wouldn’t come uncrossed for a full series of plays. You are just out there, trying to hit the guy in the middle” — Kyle Turley
Football has developed a “don’t ask don’t tell” culture when it comes to injuries. The phrase “are you hurt or injured” has become popularized in the sport — when you’re hurt you can still play. I can remember being told this as far back as Pop Warner. It has become indoctrinated in the mindset of players. In the most extreme cases this mentality will at worst result in the ending of a career, but when it comes to brain injuries the consequences can be life threatening.
“Please, see that my brain is given to the N.F.L.’s brain bank.” — Dave Duerson
Dave Duerson was a star defensive back for the Chicago Bears, but after leaving the league he, like Turley, began experiencing the effects of CTE. The above quote is Duerson’s final request in his suicide letter, where he wrote about his struggles mentally after leaving the NFL. While there has not yet been any research to prove a direct link between CTE and suicide, many experts believe that the two have some type of correlation. The most prominent of these examples was Junior Seau who killed himself in 2012. His family saw first hand Junior’s struggles with CTE and when the NFL offered a settlement to the family they rejected the offer. Seau’s family brought light to a subject that wasn’t widely talked about prior, not just for the players themselves, but how the disease affected the families of players as well.
Even with all the recent studies linking brain injuries to game of football many players continue to follow their passion for the game. This isn’t to say they aren’t worried about the consequences; the players’ union has worked with the NFL in recent years to implement rules to help keep players safe, but for most the reward outweighs the potential consequences. Several players from across the league have acknowledged that CTE for them is something that is inevitable, but the money and experience they get from playing is something that is too hard to turn away. According to a recent study reported that nearly 86% of college football players live below the poverty line, so when they are given the opportunity to go to the NFL the money they are given can be life changing. The rookie minimum salary in 2020 is $610,000; that money for players who come from nearly nothing is impossible for them to turn down even knowing the potential consequences that playing can have.
Football is a uniquely American experience. There was a time when baseball was “America’s game”, but over the years football has easily become America’s biggest sport. The Super Bowl takes 29 out of the top 30 most watched events in US history. For many the memories made while playing at even the high school level are ones that they wouldn’t trade for anything. Football is changing as more information becomes available about the dangers of the sport, but the game isn’t going anywhere.
“At the end of the day, the money you make, the people you meet, the experience you get from playing this game, I’ll take it against CTE,”- Russell Shepard
