Summary of the Effects of Concussions

My overall all research question was “How do concussions affect professional athletes over the careers & lifetimes?”. My answer broad to this question would be that it hinders an athlete's value and intelligence and also shortens their career and possibly their life. I specifically found out what the NFL and NHL are doing to protect players, what the players (especially former players after they have suffered from the effects of concussions) are doing to help themselves, and more details about concussions and the effects of multiple concussions

First of I researched how the recent information discovered about how dangerous concussions actually are is affecting the NFL/NHL and what the leagues are doing to prevent concussions and protect players. The NFL and NHL have both changed several rules to curb the amount of concussions. The NFL, for example, added and changed several rules that include not allowing players to “launch himself off the ground and using his helmet to strike a player in a defenseless posture in the head or neck” (old rule only pertained to receivers), play is immediately whistled dead when a player loses his helmet, “during field-goal and extra-point attempts, the defense cannot position any player on the line directly across from the snapper, who's considered to be in a defenseless position” according to NFL.com. The NFL has also struck the concussion protocol (the guidelines for a player to return from a concussion). These changes have benefitted players but will not be enough to deter the amount of concussions and head injuries. The NHL on the other hand, implemented a new rule that was thought to be beneficial but infact did not change anything. According to NHL.com “something like 50 percent of our concussions came from hits that were delivered from the side.” To solve this issue the NHL created a rule to prevent “Illegal checks to the head, defined as "a lateral or blindside hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact is not permitted.” These type of hits “to will now be subject to a five-minute major penalty and automatic game misconduct, as well as possible supplemental discipline if deemed appropriate by the League.” Although this new rule was implemented it did not benefit the players or the NHL at all. According to  “NHL concussion rate not helped by rule changes, according to study” the rule change did not help curb the amount of concussions in the NHL. The NFL and NHL have both been taking steps in the right direction but still have a lot of changes to make.

The second sub-question I researched was “What are the players doing about this issue?” According to a CNN article titled “Judge approves NFL concussion lawsuit settlement” many players are suing the NFL for not informing them about the effects of concussions and for not protecting the players. A recent “agreement provides up to $5 million per retired player for serious medical conditions associated with repeated head trauma”(applies to around 5,000 players) according to this CNN article.

Lastly I researched the detailed effects of repeated concussions and head injuries. I learned that Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, is “ is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes (and others) with a history of repetitive brain trauma” according to Boston University and that concussions are a main contributor to athletes developing CTE.  A PBS article titled “76 of 79 Deceased NFL Players Found to Have Brain Disease” said “new data from the nation’s largest brain bank focused on traumatic brain injury has found evidence of a degenerative brain disease in 76 of the 79 former [NFL] players it’s examined”. The degenerative brain disease most commonly found is chronic traumatic encephalopathy. CTE is starting to be a serious problem around the NFL and other athletes. It is the most common disease found in players who are deceased or have been struggling to live a normal life after their football career. Not only can CTE be harmful itself but it can lead to “mood disorders, such as depression and bouts of rage, while those with more severe cases can experience confusion, memory loss and advanced dementia” which all affect people greatly. These effects of CTE are being seen in NFL players. For example, NFL legend Junior Seau (who, after his death,was found to have CTE) committed suicide and former Chief’s linebacker Jovan Belcher was found to have CTE after he shot and killed his girlfriend and then drove to a Chiefs practice facility where he committed suicide in front of team officials in 2012.

In conclusion, I learned how players and professional sports are being affected by concussions and other brain diseases.