Read and answer 2
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Pupil 2 |
Composition Pupil
Michelle Krueger
ENG 201
November 24, 2018
CTE
CTE is a disease that is caused by repeated trauma to the head and has many life altering symptoms. A study from CNN that looked at the brain autopsies of former NFL players to see how many had CTE came to a surprising discovery. That ninety-nine percent of previous NFL players had CTE and its symptoms. Daniella Emanuel, who specializes on brain trauma injuries talks about the symptoms of CTE when she says, “The disease is pathologically marked by a buildup of abnormal tau protein in the brain that can disable neuropathways and lead to a variety of clinical symptoms. These include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, aggression, depression, anxiety, impulse control issues and sometimes suicidal behavior” (Emanuel). These symptoms are no joke and create a much more difficult life for the athletes and the people around them who deal with the blowback of these symptoms.
Not only does CTE present with physical symptoms but it also affects the other aspects of players lives. The Mayo Clinic has done years of research on CTE and have come out with startling news when they state, “CTE is a very rare condition. It has been found in the brains of people who played contact sports, such as football, as well as others. Some symptoms of CTE are thought to include difficulties with thinking (cognition), physical problems, emotions and other behaviors” (“Chronic”). This quote shows how not only does CTE affect a player’s physical well-being, but it can also temper with a player’s emotional well-being as well. A player’s emotional state can be detrimental to those around the athlete and not just himself. Often family members get the worst of the disease because of the erratic emotional state players are in. The source of many of these symptoms and cases of CTE link to football.
The NFL is the biggest source of CTE related injuries. To cover this epidemic the New York Times did a study on if a certain position in football would be likely to get CTE from playing. Joe Ward is a psychologist who specializes in sports related CTE and how their behavior changes from the CTE states, “The brains here are from players who died as young as 23 and as old as 89. And they are from every position on the field-quarterbacks, running backs, and linebackers, and even a place-kicker and a punter” (Ward). What they found in the study was that every single positon had CTE. Even the low contact kicker and punter still had CTE. They also found that the lineman where the most likely to contract CTE over any other positon on the field. Every single lineman in the test had advanced stages of CTE Constant bashing and fighting in the middle of the field for control of the line of scrimmage did these players no favors when it came to their brain health.
figure 1
source: Joe Ward, Josh Williams And Sam Manchester. “111 N.F.L. Brains. All But One Had
C.T.E.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 July 2017, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/25/sports/football/nfl-cte.html.
In figure 1 above it gives the number of players per position that had CTE. The way this experiment was conducted was with the consent from family members the brain surgeons preformed autopsies on players. The chart shows about is all the players who they checked and they found CTE in 110 out of 111 players from the NFL who the doctors performed the brain autopsy on. The surgeons looked for the buildup of protein in the brain which kills the brain and its cells. This type of data is empirical data that used the experiment method. This study used quantitative method to show that over ninety-nine percent of players had CTE, and used quantitative data to show which positions were CTE occurred. This experiment was run by Dr. Ann McKee who is a neuropathologist, and the chief of neuropathology at the CTE center at Boston University. This program is ranked the best in the world and has amassed the largest CTE brain bank in the world.
One scary realization of so many players having CTE in the NFL is that CTE is linked to other life-altering diseases. The website called Alzheimers that focuses on diseases that stem from loss of brain cells states, “However, based on present knowledge, the signs of CTE may sometimes be similar to those of other conditions that involve substantial loss of brain cells, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease” (Chronic). This is a massive safety hazard for football players who know that not only is their physical body getting torn down, but also their mental ability. The CTE drastically increases the chance of Alzheimers and Parkinsons diseases.
In the picture seen below which is figure 2, the brain on the left is a completely healthy brain, however the brain on the right is a brain with advanced CTE. It is easy to see how different they look. The NFL players after a long career have brains that look like the photo on the right. It is easy to see how they can act different or have many physical symptoms from CTE because their brain cannot continue the normal functions in the brain’s destroyed state
figure 2
source: “How CTE Affects the Brain.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-four-stages-of-cte/.
A great example of how negatively CTE can affect a life is the case of Aaron Hernandez. Aaron was an All-Pro player with the New England Patriots. He won a college national championship and made it to the Super bowl. Besides of all these great accolades Hernandez will be remembered for something quite different. He murdered one another man and then was going to be put on trial for murdering two more men, but killed himself in prison before the trial started. After his death, an autopsy was taken and doctors found critical information and posted it to New York Times. The article talked first about his accomplishments on the football field and then went into what the autopsy of his brain found and Dr. Belson who performed the brain autopsy says, “Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots tight end and a convicted murderer, was 27 when he committed suicide in April. Yet a posthumous examination of his brain showed he had such a severe form of the degenerative brain disease C.T.E. that the damage was akin to that of players well into their 60s” (Belson). With this evidence, there is no reason to not think that advanced stages of CTE had factor to do with not only the murders, but also the suicide. Unfortunately, a bright and talented young man was tortured by the effects of CTE and made rash decisions with not only the murder, but taking his life as well. His example as sad as it is, should create a push to stop the rise of CTE because as we can see in his case it did not only affect him, but the three men he murdered, and his daughter who won’t have a dad growing up.
CTE is not just grown men making a choice about their health, but CTE can start in youth football leagues for little kids. The website Salon did a great article about this Joseph Lapin a neurologist who specializes in brain injuries says, “Each year about four million young athletes play football. It’s estimated that between 11 and 15 percent of those children get a concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (TBI)” (Lapin). CTE is not just a disease for adults, but a disease that can be contracted by any age. Youth football is not exempt from CTE. This is a huge problem because small kids are growing up with a disadvantage and symptoms that shape their lives because of CTE. CTE is not just a disease for the grown man playing football, but instead takes equal opportunity for anyone with repeated head trauma, which the next generation of kids will be negatively influenced by this epidemic.
The scope of the problem starts and ends with the NFL in the United States. To make the problem of CTE stop it must be targeted at its source. Once the NFL cracks down even harder on brain injuries it will have a trickle-down effect to other sports, levels of competition, and ages. Once the CTE issue is solved in the NFL there will be a visible solution for the rest of the world to follow the same plan of attack on this brain injury that is changes lives around the world.
One of the biggest solutions to the problem of CTE is the protection of the head and neck. This can be seen by the new designs of helmets for football players. An article from CNN came out about the new helmets Ahiza the chief engineer of the helmet states, “The scientists, neurosurgeons, and engineers who designed the helmet make clear that it won't prevent concussions. No helmet will” (Garcia). There is some human error when playing the game of football that every injury will not be prevented, but these helmets drastically increase the chances of preventing and stopping head trauma and injuries. This can be seen when the same article states, “But the NFL and the NFL Players Association spent the last few years testing dozens of helmet concepts that could help protect players. Out of all the designs, the Vicis ranked highest in safety” (Garcia). This is great progress for the NFL and it is helpful for not only scientists, but engineers and neurosurgeon to all be working for the player’s safety.
The way the new vicis helmet works mechanically is a big upgrade from the previous helmets used. Fox news came out with interviews of some of these scientists and neurosurgeons to understand the way the helmets work and one of the scientists Marver answered, “The outermost layer deforms like a car bumper, yielding when it's hit and slowing impact forces. Right below that is a second, reflex layer of columns that "bend and eventually buckle upon impact. “The third layer is a very thin hard shell that protects against skull fractures. The fourth, innermost layer is the form liner, which conforms to the player's head. Marver said traditional helmets have a hard-outer shell that makes a “crack” sound on impact. The Zero1, on the other hand, goes “thump” (Marver). This is great news for the health and safety of players worldwide. The outline of the helmet and its parts and what they do which was described above can be seen below in figure 3.
figure 3
source: Stella, Rick. “Flexible Football Helmet Absorbs Hits like a Car Bumper, Could Put an
End to Concussions.” Digital Trends, 5 Apr. 2017, www.digitaltrends.com/cool-
tech/zero-1-football-helmet-helps-prevent-concussions/.
Another big way that is being worked on to stop the epidemic of CTE is the certification of coaches. The NFL started a certification called “heads up football.” The name is based off good tackling technique by keeping your head up which prevents concussions and head trauma for both the tackler and the offensive player. From the heads up football website it says, “Working with leading football experts and medical professionals, USA Football developed Heads Up Football specifically to meet the needs of player safety” (“Safer League”). The way it works is coaches take a mini class and watch videos on techniques to safely teach their players how to play the game of football safely without losing the fun in the game. This is a long-term way of creating safer football with less CTE in the future. It is also becoming necessary for new coaches to be certified before they can coach which creates a community of smart players and coaches to avoid injuries.
Fining players is another crucial step for eliminating CTE in players. Money is a very strong motivator, and since the NFL started fining players for illegal hits the injury rate has drastically fallen. From the NFL operation website, they have the lists of all the things that you can get fined for along with the money that it will cost players for doing those acts. In the website it says, “The reasons why the fines are so high is to protect our players from making rash decisions or risky plays and to also protect the game of football… all the money from the fines does not go to the NFL, but instead the charity of the offender’s choice” (“NFL Fine”). This is a great incentive for players not to play risky because of the fines.
To carry out these ideas on a full scale is not as daunting as one might think. To start, the new safer helmets only cost twenty five percent more than the current helmets. Twenty five percent is a low cost to pay for better protection and safety. Considering all the players around the America to refit those who don’t have one of the new technology helmets would be close to fifty million dollars. However, this is a small price to pay for the health of everyone playing football. An article from CNN also says the NFL has “money up for grabs” so to speak when the article says, “The NFL has invested in preventing, diagnosing and treating head injuries. Last year it announced a $100 million concussion initiative aimed at making the game safer. Of that amount, $60 million will go to tech innovation and $40 million will go to medical research” (Garcia). So, players or programs can apply for this grant and get the helmets for free off the NFL’s dollars and be much safer. This money is out there and it starts with the coaches and owners of the league to get together and to enact the safety of their players. Owners and coaches need to work together to fill out the application for the grant money to get the safer technology into the players on the field.
Certification is another hurdle to jump to stop the CTE. Turns out the hurdle is very short. The certification has been made mandatory for new coaches and is free or very little cost. The website states why the price is so low if not even free when it says, “Safety is the main concern there will be no excuses for not being able to gain this certification” (“USA Football”). This makes it easy for all coaches to do, and to slowly change the culture of the next generation of players to stop the epidemic of CTE.
The fining of players has already made a great difference in player safety, but it still has room to grow in the future. The fining of players has no doubt helped stop the reckless plays and dirty hits. The only thing that needs to change about the fines is for them to be raised. The fines are hefty for a normal person; however, these athletes get paid so much money that the fines should be larger to encourage safe playing. This is already in the works and can be seen on the NFL operations website when it says, “Fines are being raised slowly every year to continue to give incentive to play a clean game of football. The option is being added to donate the money of fines to not only charity, but also to sponsor equipment to football programs in need of new safer equipment” (“Operations NFL”). The new changes in the fining system will help not only current NFL players, but also the football community if the guilty player decided to sponsor a program with the fine money. This all adds up to making a safer environment for football and less CTE cases in the future.
There are some people who say, “This only affects NFL players why should I care?” or “I don’t watch football so I don’t care.” They could not be more wrong. Going back to the Aaron Hernandez case the three men he killed probably asked those questions themselves, but figured out with their life that they should care about CTE because the man who killed them was suffering from CTE. Whether you watch or support football or not the chances of you knowing someone who played or plays football currently are very high. And the actions of CTE can be felt by not only those who have the disease but those around them in society as well. Therefore, this problem needs to be fixed.
Some people may argue that NFL players get paid enough money to compensate for the risk of playing the high impact game. Getting paid millions of dollars, they should be able to afford and buy all the best equipment, and if they don’t it is on the players. That the issue of CTE is just a problem for the NFL so why make a big push for change when it only affects NFL players. This can be seen when Dr. Joseph Marron says, “I think the problem of CTE although real is it’s being over-exaggerated and it’s being extrapolated to youth football and to high school football” (Florio). This illustrates how even people who are well educated still believe there is not a strong link between CTE and football.
This however is not true at all. The new research that has come out to show that “Over ninety-nine percent of pervious players have CTE” (Ward). This data shows the strong connection between football and CTE. The NFL dictates major rules that trickle down to the levels below including college football, high school football, and even pee wee football. If the NFL ignores this issue it will not be addressed in the other levels of football. When it is not addressed in lower levels the risk of CTE is still very prevalent for younger kids who don’t have millions of dollars to buy better equipment. The disease of CTE also does not only affect players, but it also affects those around the players which calls for a need to change for the safety of players and everyone who encounters them.
By giving NFL players stricter punishment for illegal hits, using safer and more protective helmets to prevent head trauma, and certification for coaches to teach safe techniques will reduce injuries and cases of CTE which will make the world a better safer place not only for players but those around them. A great way to start is asking your coach or the coach for your children if they are certified and to check to make sure the helmet is safe for players to make sure the future is brighter for the new generation of super stars or average joes playing football.
Works Cited
“A SAFER LEAGUE IS A BETTER LEAGUE.” USA Football,
usafootball.com/programs/heads-up-football/youth/.
Belson, Ken. “Aaron Hernandez Had Severe C.T.E. When He Died at Age
27.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Sept. 2017,
www.nytimes.com/2017/09/21/sports/aaron-hernandez-cte-brain.html.
“Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) | Symptoms & Diagnosis.” What Is
Dementia, alz.org/dementia/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy-cte-symptoms.asp.
Emanuel, Daniella. “CTE Found in 99% of Studied Brains from Deceased NFL
Players.” CNN, Cable News Network, 26 July 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/07/25/health/cte-nfl-players-brains-study/index.html.
Fainaru, Steve. “Questions about Heads Up Tackling.” ESPN, ESPN Internet
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Florio, Posted by Mike. “NFL Doctor Says CTE Is Being ‘over-
Exaggerated.’” ProFootballTalk, 19 Mar. 2015,
profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/03/18/nfl-doctor-says-cte-is-being-
over-exaggerated/.
Garcia, Ahiza. “Vicis Zero1 NFL Helmet Aims to Reduce Head
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money.cnn.com/2017/09/16/news/companies/vicis-nfl-helmet-
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Goldman, Tom. “Study: CTE Found In Nearly All Donated NFL Player
Brains.” NPR, NPR, 25 July 2017,
www.npr.org/2017/07/25/539198429/study-cte-found-in-nearly-all-
donated-nfl-player-brains.
“How CTE Affects the Brain.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service,
www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-four-stages-of-cte/.
Joe Ward, Josh Williams And Sam Manchester. “111 N.F.L. Brains. All But One Had
C.T.E.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 July 2017, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/25/sports/football/nfl-cte.html.
Lapin, Joseph A. “Will Concussions Kill Football?” Salon, 15 Dec. 2012,
www.salon.com/2012/12/15/will_concussions_kill_football/.
Mayo Clinic Staff. “Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: Prevention Is Key.” Mayo
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Stella, Rick. “Flexible Football Helmet Absorbs Hits like a Car Bumper, Could
Put an End to Concussions.” Digital Trends, 5 Apr. 2017,
www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/zero-1-football-helmet-helps-prevent-
concussions/.