271; the number of diagnosed concussion in the National Football League only in the 2015 season (CNN Library). The amount of concussion that are being diagnosed in the NFL are growing each season as players get bigger and more aggressive. A concussion is the hitting of the brain against the sides of the skull. This causes the brain to swell as results in depleted senses and potential memory loss. The brain is the most precious thing that the human body has and when it is injured it results in a lesser way of life. Players in the NFL are extremely likely to receive a concussion due to the hitting nature of the sport. Due to the fact that concussion are so common many players receive multiple over their careers in the league. This causes repeat extreme trauma to the organ that controls life itself. Research has been done on the postmortem brains of multiple players and they all have to save problems. Their brains are significantly impaired compared to a normal one. This deterioration in the brain causes a significantly decreased life span and lesser way of life. For this reason NFL player should stop playing football after they receive their first concussion due to the fact that it is a severe brain injury, the money is not worth the long term brain damage, and affects the purity of life after they are done in the league.

The first time that any researcher found any evidence to prove that concussions caused serious brain damage was when Bennet Omalu observed Mike Webster's brain once he died. (Lakas). When Omalu first looked at his brain he expected to see what is called "punch-drunk syndrome" which is commonly seen in boxers due to the repeated head trauma that they receive over their careers. In a shocking ordeal Omalu saw no signs of this disease Webster's brain was completely normal from the outside and looked like there were no signs of damage. But he then examined the brain closer and he saw large build ups of a protein called tau that is usually only found in elderly people not in a 50 year old man. This led him to believe that he now saw the effects of the repeated hits in the NFL on Webster's brain. Omalu decided to call this brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. This disease was caused by the repeated hit and concussions that theses professional players experience over their careers in the hard hitting league. CTE's symptoms included "depression, memory loss, and some cases dementia". (Breslow). These findings revolutionized the NFL because is showed what was happening to their players over the years which caused them immense pain and a shortened life. 

Many cases of players have been determined to have exhibited the extreme symptoms of CTE. These players are not able to speak properly, retain memory, or even function like the average human. Before Mike Webster's death, he was said to have run away from home many times and just wonder around the streets of Pittsburgh and then sleep under the bridges at night. He was unable to sleep so he would taze himself in the side so he would be knocked unconscious so he could get just a few hours of sleep. His brain had completely failed him by his death at the age of 50. His brain paved the way for many other players to be diagnosed with CTE. The only problem with diagnosing this disease is that is can only be seen once the player is deceased. The brain must be cut open to determine if the disease is prevalent. The symptoms can be seen as the player is alive but no defined answers can be given until the autopsy is done. Webster is not the only player to be diagnosed with this disease. Researchers with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University that "identified the degenerative disease known as CTE in 96 percent of NFL players that they've examined" (Breslow). They believe that the disease is caused by repetitive head trauma such as concussions. This is not just a coincidence with the correlation between the two. The fact that this disease diminishes the ability for the person to function properly a lot of the time the retired can no longer deal with the disease so they commit suicide. There have been many cases, even just recently, of extremely well known players that have been found dead in their houses because they cannot remember or do anything properly. Most of them donate their brains to research so that research can be done to further investigate how this disease forms over the years of constant impact. This disease is so prevalent in former NFL players that it cannot be ignored and must be prevented.

Why would a player continue to play football is they know that their life will be cut almost in half and their quality of life would almost be nonexistent? I strive to argue that players should stop playing after they receive their first concussion. A concussion causes too much damage to their brain and when you add that to the constant micro trauma they receive after each hit it all adds up to serious brain issues after they retire such as CTE. According to the NFL Players Association "the average career length is about 3.3 years" ("Average NFL Career Length | Statistic."). That is about three seasons of constant hits in games and practices. This is not even including the multitude of hits that they receive from the age they start playing all the way up to this point in the professional league. The effect to the brain from this constant pounding is not worth playing the short amount of just three seasons in the NFL. The player's brain is much more valuable than to have said they played in the NFL. Most players never even make it to a Super Bowl too so they are risking 50 years of their lives to play about 48 games total professionally. The research is clearly showing that football players are showing all the symptoms of CTE. The quality of life that these player will experience after they retire will be nothing of their families because they might not even be able to talk to their daughter or remember their grandsons' name. This disease affects the most important organ that we have so why would someone want to harm it if they have the choice not to? I believe that making players retire after their first concussion will allow them to still have a normal life when they are older. An intelligent player, Chris Borland, formally with the San Francisco 49ers, retired after just one season in the NFL due to the fact that he received a concussion in the pre-season and he said "From what I've researched and what I've experienced, I don't think it's worth the risk" ("NFL Player Chris Borland Retires after One Season at Age 24 Due to Head Injury Concerns | Fox News."). He realized that the rest of his life was more important that playing football. He said that he wanted to be proactive before he started seeing symptoms and it was too late. This shows that even just some of the players are aware of the extreme implications that come with having concussions. So even though players might choose to continue to play after a concussion do you think they would let their only children play football? Mike Ditka Hall Of Fame tight end and former head coach of the Chicago Bears believe that even though he has played his whole life he would not allow his son to play. When he was asked if he would let his kids play he states "It's sad. I wouldn't. And my whole life was football. I think the risk is worse than the reward. I really do." (Fatherly). It shows that even Hall of Fame players do not think that football is worth risking their brains over. There is a fine line that these players are walking when they choose to step in each play and take a blow to the head that causes trauma. Each blow to the head they get is basically minutes off their life. There is research that shows that once a player receives on concussion they are "1-2 times more likely to receive a second one" ("Concussion Facts | Sports Concussion Institute.") and each concussion after that the likelihood drastically continues to increase. So when that player thinks that this will be the only concussion that they will receive they are extremely wrong because their odds of getting another rise with each hit. Playing in the National Football League is not worth the detrimental years after due to the extreme brain trauma they recieved. 

Although I believe that players should stop playing once they receive a concussion there are many different way to make sure that the players stay safe after receiving trauma to the head. The NFL has implemented many new rules to try and reduce the likelihood of a concussion. They moved up the kick off location so that players would not be able to get to full running speeds by the time they got to the other side of the field to defend. Also there is not only athletic trainers on the side line ,but one up in the press box solely to keep a look out for any plays that make have cause potential head trauma in which they radio down to the side lines and make sure the player is checked out before they are allowed to return to play. There is also a five step protocol that player must pass after they have received a concussion to return to play. When Robert Griffin III was supposedly cleared for play, the decision was revered just 24 hours later. The five steps that he had to go through were rest and recovery, light aerobic exercise, continued aerobic with introduction of strength training, football- specific work, and finally full football activity with full clearance. (Clarke). Normally these steps take about a day each to complete but RG3 completed steps 1-4 in less than three days. Every concussion is vastly different so these protocols are very undetailed in what they believe the player should be able to accomplish at each step. Player are able to rush through these steps which only makes them more like to receive another one. These rules though have yet to show any definite signs of reducing the likelihood of concussions. Another reason that players might still play after a concussion or even with one is that they really do not care about what will happen to them. Maurice Jones-Drew from the Jacksonville Jaguars said that he would simply "Hide it", he would not allow the concussion to interfere with the game. He continued on saying "I know there will be a day when I'm going to have trouble walking. I realize that, but this is what I signed up for" ("Players Still Willing to Hide Head Injuries."). Players do not care about the consciousness that come along with concussions. Most of them know that they will not be able to do almost anything of what they are able to do now later on in life. The player rather continue playing the game and just seek help after because this is what they have worked their whole lives for. They will not let anything get in their way. Many player do say that they would be more likely to report symptoms of a concussion if they received more information about them or if they better knew the affects later down in life ("Players Still Willing to Hide Head Injuries."). They believe that if they are given speeches or can see players that are having serious CTE symptoms that they might be more likely to report one once they get it. Stanford Routt from the Oakland Raiders said "You're never going to be totally safe form concussion in this game, this is the only place where you can actually legally assault people" ("Players Still Willing to Hide Head Injuries."). Even though you are never safe from a concussion it does not mean that you have to continue playing after you receive one. One could potentially play an entire career in the NFL and never be diagnosed with a concussion and still have CTE just because they decided that playing in that one game was much more important than having a quality life after football ended. 

NFL football players should stop playing after they receive one concussion. There is so much evidence showing how the brain deteriorates due to all the blunt force that is placed it. Repeated concussions lead to CTE later on in the players' life which causes them to have a poor quality of life which is usually cut short for medical reasons but more commonly suicide from the constant burden of having to deal with this disease. Even though the National Football League is trying to instill new rules that are trying to reduce the occurrence of concussions there is no true evidence that this has actually helped at all. The players are also part of the problem because they choose to play through a concussion and get one more game in rather than stopping and helping save what left they have of their already unhealthy brains. CTE is an aggressive disease that now player should ever even debate reporting a concussion. It is not worth ruining their life. The career of a football player is short and is gone in the blink of the eye but the lasting effects of the repeated brain trauma will stay with them forever.

