Football is America's pastime. According to the National Football League's commissioner Roger Goodell, ''It unites people. It gives people a chance to sort of come together and enjoy people around this country today'' (Leibovich). Football's ability to unite Americans was proven by the 50th Super Bowl, which was the most watched program in television history. The strange thing about the sport that brings America together is that it's tearing its players apart.  The issue dividing the league is something called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a disease affecting the brains of about 87 retired NFL players (Barrabi). CTE is a common disease found in boxers, but was not associated with the game of football because of the use of helmets and other safety protections. The death of NFL Hall of Famer and former Steeler Mike Webster and the study of his brain is how pathologist Omalu discovered the illness (Laskas). According to protectthebrain.org, CTE is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes caused by a  history of repetitive brain trauma, including concussions as well as repetitive hits to the head ("What is CTE"). By 2009 this disease had been discovered, defined and found in several players, but also denied by the NFL in front of congress. Six football seasons later, the NFL finally recognized the disease, but despite Goodells attempts at protocol changes, the number of concussions this past season, was the highest it's ever been (Leibovich). The increase of concussions means the risk of CTE has been increased as well. Due to the serious implications of the disease, unless the NFL recognizes and takes action to help protect its players from concussions and prevent the development of  CTE, the game of football can be endangered for future years. 

The NFL's disease, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is directly linked to repetitive head traumas and concussions. CTE eventually leads to brain deterioration and a decrease in mass. The main component of the disease is the build up of the tau protein, which is used by the brain to stabilize cell structure. "Tau is temporal gray matter that includes the amygdaloid nucleus"(Laskas). In a brain that is suffering from CTE the protein will appear to be noticeably strange dark splotches (Laskas).The increased buildup of tau caused by CTE interferes with its natural production, creating clogging and causing neuronal function interference. This clogging interference leads to the death of healthy brain cells (Lakas). In order to find the tau protein and diagnose individuals with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy pathologist must examine the brain upon death using slides and a microscope. Recently scientist have discovered a way to diagnose CTE in living brains through positron emission tomography or PET scans. According to Ann Mckee, MD and Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, CTE can be divided into four stages. Also according to Dr. Mckee "The severity of CTE appears to correlate with the length of time engaged in the sport and the number of traumatic injuries"(Drysdale 430). During each stage the amount of tau buildup increases and causes a change in the symptoms. Stage I symptoms include headaches and trouble concentrating, Stage II includes depression, explosive behavior and impaired short-term memory. Stage III causes brain impairment, problems performing functions similar to planning, multitasking and judgment. Lastly, Stage IV is associated with dementia, or serious memory and cognitive impairments that affect the individual's daily living (Mooney). 

The most famous and the best example of stage IV CTE is NFL Hall of Famer, Mike Webster. Before his death in 2002, Webster suffered all four stage's symptoms of CTE. According to the Atlantic,Webster started to behave irrationally shortly after he retired from the NFL. His behavior became so concerning that the NFL Retirement Board ruled him disabled in 1999 (Ezell). His behaviors included supergluing his teeth back into his mouth, sleeping in public places like the Amtrak station and under bridges, and he even bought a taser in order to knock himself unconscious to be able to sleep. After dying at age 50 due to a heart condition and a "post-concussion syndrome" (Lakas), Omalu looked into his brain to determine what Webster's mortician meant by this syndrome. Once Omalu's discovery and diagnosis of CTE in Webster became public, a chain reaction occurred and led to the findings of the disease in many others NFLers. 

After the findings in Mike Webster's brain, Dr. Omalu reached out to the NFL Hall of Fame for permission to create a study in order to track the brains of retired NFL players but this was never acknowledged by the League (Laskas). It turns out this was not the only dismissive action taken in regards to Webster's case, the League's tactics started long before Webster's death. In 1999 the NFL declared Mike Webster "'totally and permanently' disabled as 'the result of head injuries he suffered as a football player.'" (Ezell), but spent eight years denying this fact to the public. According to the Frontline documentary "The League of Denial", during a private meeting between Dr. Omalu and an NFL doctor, Omalu realized the politics of science and corporations and despite the physical evidence of the disease, he could not go against the NFL because "they will squash you" (PBSfrontline). After presenting his findings to the League and being shut down and accused of faulty medical practices, Omalu stopped his research. By 2009 Dr. Ann Mckee picked up where Omalu left off, and that same year she presented her findings to the NFL. When she entered the room in the NFL headquarters to present the data to a group of the league's doctors, she noticed there was a lawyer present (PBSfrontline). The result of this meeting was shut down, the NFL committee had not changed their opinion, Commissioner Roger Goodell still refused to acknowledge the connection between head injuries, occurred during a football career, and brain diseases (Drysdale 432).

The denial did not stop there. Late 2009, due to the increase in press coverage, congress called on the NFL. According to the Frontline Documentary, when asked if football was the cause of CTE, the League's commissioner Roger Goodell did not give a complete answer.  A congressional representative compared the League's dismissiveness to the big tobacco companies and their lung disease issue in the 90s. In other words,  the NFL is denying a disease by stating that their was no significant evidence proving football was the cause of the disease, despite the large amounts of evidence. This comment sparked the NFL's first action in regards to accepting CTE. The League donated money to Boston University Center for research into cognitive brain injuries (PBSfrontline). As states by a NFL spokesman "We are dedicated to making football safer and continue to take steps to protect players... We continue to make significant investments in independent research through our gifts to Boston University, the [National Institutes of Health] and other efforts to accelerate the science and understanding of these issues."(Breslow). The second major step taken, was the following year when the NFL created a poster to put in the locker rooms of all teams stating that concussions "may lead to problems with memory and communication, personality changes, as well as depression and the early onset of dementia. Concussions and conditions resulting from repeated brain injury can change your life and your family's life forever." (Ezell). Two years later in 2012 five players had committed suicide in order to be postmortemly diagnosed with CTE or due to the complete loss of control of the brains because of CTE (Ezell). Despite these deaths the NFL had still not openly admitted football being the cause of CTE.

One year after the NFL's poster creation, an Atlanta Falcons player filed a lawsuit against the NFL. Not long after the lawsuit grew when 4,500 League retirees joined in and sued the NFL. The lawsuit stated that playing NFL football "caused and contributed to the increased risks of latent brain injury," and that the NFL failed "to take appropriate steps to prevent and mitigate repeated traumatic head impacts (including sub-concussive blows and concussions) and the latent brain injury." (Drysdale 433). The class action lawsuit was settled in 2014, when a judge ruled that the NFL will pay players up five million dollars for medical conditions caused by their time playing football for the League (Almasy and Martin). Despite the money, over 200 former players did not accept the settlement and in April 2015 created a new in class lawsuit after the settlement stating that the NFL "sought to conceal a link between football and long-term brain disease" (Breslow). By the end of 2015, a total of 81 out of 96 retired NFL players were diagnosed with CTE (Barrabi), and studies found 131 out of 165 individuals who played football either professionally or semi-professionally tested positive as well (Breslow).  

By the rising number of CTE diagnoses, one would never know that the National Football League had made protocol changes, in attempt to reduce concussions suffered on the field. According to a Vanderbilt Journal, in the early to mid 2000s the NFL used their own, faulty concussion data to make their protocol rules, but after an outcry from the scientific community, resorted to change these rules (Grove). According to "Helmet to Helmet contact", the NF's changes included the length of kickoffs, created new rules to limit head and neck contact with defenseless players, as well as a requirement to consult with independent neurologists after players suffer a head injury (Drysdale 427). Another major change made by the league was moving the beginning game kickoff from the 30 yard line to the 35 yard line . There has also been talk about eliminating the kickoff all together due to the "successful decrease of concussions", according the NFL (Drysdale 439).

Although these new rule changes seem to be a step in the right direction, they actually have not changed much in regards to the amount of head injuries suffered. The league has made 39 rule changes, yet the number of concussions has increased. (Leibovich). For starters, according to the Helmet to Helmet Contact, the NFL still has the rule in place "when a player sustains a grade one concussion, the player will remain conscious and "suffers only momentary confusion ... [and] no medical intervention is necessary." (Drysdale 429). Another problem is defensive players do not always know what results in a penalty during the game, "and they still may be fined for plays that were not even penalized at the time of contact" (Drysdale 444). Also the punishments are not adequate, the major punishments players and teams receive for violating the new safety rules are 15-yard penalties and fines (Drysdale 439). To make matters worse the NFL is known to sell images of the same hits that break the safety rules, and profit between fifty and two hundred and fifty dollars (Drysdale 445). 

Another major set back in the safety changes, lies within the League's players and the mentality that working for the NFL corporation gives them, "the biggest problem faced by the NFL and its players in the battle to reduce head  injuries is the mentality of the players themselves, a mentality that appears to be supported by the NFL" (Drysdale 445). For example, many players believe that getting injured is part of playing the game, saying that concussions "[are] part of football" and "[if] you get concussed you gotta keep on playing."(Drysdale 446). To make matters worse the players that do admit to their injuries could face being replaced or could lose their job completely. A source states that "Players continue to hide concussion symptoms from coaches and trainers to avoid being taken out of a highly contested game and possibly even losing their starting positions permanently" (Drysdale 427).  An example of this type of incident is when 49ers quarterback, Alex Smith suffered a severe concussion during a seasonal game. Smith sat out for the remainder of the season and was replaced by the backup quarterback Kaepernick who lead the team to the Super Bowl (Drysdale 447). It is incidents like this that cause players to hide injuries or downgrade the problem even when something more serious is present. The player is choosing, "job security [in] the short haul vs. quality of life [in] the long haul." (Drysdale 447). 

Despite all these flaws in the NFL's attempt, the league still claims that the number of concussions have decreased. But the League is performing its on studies and is known to be presenting biased data. An example of the biased data is no concussion statistics are gathered from the last week of the season, unless the team makes it to the playoffs (Drysdale 443). Only six out of thirtytwo teams go to the playoffs. As stated in the Journal article, One Hit to Many, "it is precisely what the fans don't see that shapes the game for professional football players" (Truman 10). The NFL is trying to appease the public more than they are trying to prevent CTE in it's players. All  the rules intended to reduce the number of brain disease causing hits, proved to be ineffective, but the NFL continues to settle for them (Truman 11). What is not being discussed is the fact that the players are the ones to lose in this situation. They lose their capacity to control their brains and can eventually lose their lives. CTE is a disease that can develop in the brain of every player, causing over fifty brains to be in danger per team. The NFL actions, and lack of action shows the importance of corperation over individuals and money over players lives. Football players "[are] at risk of enduring some of the worst kinds of brain damage a person can endure -- while entertaining people ... " and making money for the NFL (Truman 11).

At some point the League will have to uphold their moral obligations and decide that players lives are more important than the annual profit. The players are using their bodies for entertainment and money for the League, and in the end after they retiree and the NFL is no longer profiting off them, the players suffer. The facts say that the league is using its players for the corporation's benefit at large, going against its moral obligations as a company. The only way to fix this problem is if the NFL stops focusing on profits and focuses on the players. The NFL must fill its obligations as a league and do what's necessary to protect its players. In order to take a step in the right direction the NFL should have proper doctors on the sidelines to make correct diagnosis, provide for every player to have PET scans of their brains, have outsiders conduct research on new safety equipments and protocols to introduce to the game and overall confront CTE head one and no longer deny its seriousness. 

Due to the serious implications of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy unless the NFL recognizes and takes action to help protect its players from concussions and prevent the development of  CTE, the game of football can be endangered for future years. But the game of football is already different, now fans and players are aware that football is among the most dangerous sports to play (Truman 12). With or without the NFL taking proper action, fans of football must take the time to understand what CTE is and how it is killing the sports players. The NFL corporation and its fans are giving little support and kindness "to [the] men who turned their bodies into wrecking balls for amusement" (Truman 15). We all must "acknowledge that the human body, even the human body of a professional athlete, is breakable in ways we can't immediately see" (Truman 15). By taking these steps as a corporation and fans we can help the game of football get the transformation it needs.
