The Game Never Ends
Playing in the NFL is a life long dream for the many players who have the opportunity to take part in it. These dreams stem from the minds of players and guide many of the decisions who they make throughout their lives. However, sometimes playing in the NFL returns to the minds of players even when they have stepped away from the game. The difference is, for some, they no longer have dreams in their head but nightmares.
Concussions are an all too common experience for athletes in the National Football League. Mayo Clinic defines a concussion as “ A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that alters the way your brain functions”. At one point, a player recounts a time during his career where he received five concussions in six weeks of playing. While this amount of concussions in such a short period of time sounds rare, the truth is multiple concussions for players are all too common. Even just one concussion can be too many though. At age 17, Nathan Stiles died during halftime of a high school football game from a brain hemorrhage that developed from a concussion suffered several weeks prior.(Care2)
While a concussion is considered a serious injury on its own, another severe problem can form from receiving repeated concussions. These problems that develop from concussions are known as traumatic brain injuries, or TBI for short. The staff of Mayo Clinic states “Repeated head injuries, such as concussions, are directly linked to permanent brain injuries.” These permanent brain injuries are a TBI, and come in many forms. NBC News dug deeper into the story of traumatic brain injuries in athletes and brought attention to just how dangerous and severw they can be. For example, severe damage of brain cells, such as that caused by concussions, had been shown to lead to dementia and ALS, which is an incurable and fatal. The horrific dangers of concussions have gained enough public recognition and attention that the NFL is attempting to find a way to fix this problem.
The NFL recognizes a need to help fix the problem its players face with traumatic brain injuries and have taken steps to do so. With nearly unlimited resources available to it thanks to its extreme popularity in America, the NFL’s first move involved a monetary payout. NBC News reported that the NFL was dishing out a reported “$765 million settlement with retired NFL players” over concussions and the tbi’s associated with them. This $765 million was dispersed not only as compensation to the players but also for developing ways to prevent TBI. NBC News reported that $675 was dispersed to the players themselves, $75 million was given for medical diagnoses and procedures, and $10 million was given for research and education to help combat concussions and the effects associated with it.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/concussion/basics/definition/CON-20019272
