In the early morning hours of December 1st, 2012, Jovan Belcher, linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs, returned home from a night out in the Power and Light District, a popular bar scene in downtown Kansas City. Upon returning to his residence, he engaged in a verbal argument with his girlfriend which ultimately resulted in him fatally shooting her. Fleeing his house, he made a trip to Arrowhead Stadium, his place of employment, where he was quickly confronted by his team’s head coach and general manager. With police sirens on the horizon, Belcher unloaded the final shot into his own head, and within just over an hour had committed a murder-suicide and left numerous emotionally scarred victims in his wake. The horrific incident occurred nearly seven months to the day of the suicide of NFL Hall of Famer Junior Seau, who shot himself in the chest in order to leave his brain behind to be studied. 

Belcher was one of eight players who have died of suicide this decade. In many such cases, the brains of players are studied for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, more commonly referred to by the acronym CTE, or simply as “the concussion disease.” Boston University, the leading researcher in CTE describes the disease as “a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes (and others) with a history of repetitive brain trauma, including symptomatic concussions as well as asymptomatic subconcussive hits to the head” (BU CTE Center). Nearly two years later in September 2014, doctors announced that they had found CTE within Belcher’s brain. This information leads many to speculate why players continue to play through such high risk conditions. Despite the knowledge of repeated hits on the brain, little has been done so far to protect against this. While the symptoms and outcomes are starting to be heavily acknowledged, many players are hesitant to properly treat concussions due to the National Football League’s high level of competition and relatively low value placed on proper player safety. By utilizing various methods of properly treating concussions early, better player safety can be established from a young age without compromising the core aspects of the game. 

Throughout my entire life I have had a very strong interest in the sport of football. As a native of Massachusetts, I’ve had the pleasure of following the New England Patriots throughout my entire life, almost all of which coincides with their sustained success. At the same time I was intrigued by the numerous player safety controversies that the National Football League as a whole has endured. My first time taking interest in the issue of NFL concussions was upon the death of Junior Seau in 2012. Towards the end of his career, Seau had spent several seasons at linebacker for the Patriots, retiring following the conclusion of the 2009 season. It was reported heavily in the months following his death that his brain had tested positive for CTE, with the National Institutes of Health declaring, “The type of findings seen in Mr. Seau’s brain have been recently reported in autopsies of individuals with exposure to repetitive head injury including professional and amateur athletes who played contact sports, individuals with multiple concussions, and veterans exposed to blast injury and other trauma.” (New York Times). Over the course of his twenty year career playing as a hard hitting linebacker, the amount of head to head collisions he took are impossible to guess. In order to figure out just how much impact a single tackle can have on the head, I consulted a scientific magazine, Popular Mechanics, in order to get more insight into just how brutal tackling can truly be.

The experiment first attempted to determine what the size of an average defensive back is in the league. They settled on a safety from Seattle, Marcus Trufant, and highlighted his 5’11” and 199 pound frame. It is noted within the article that his size may fly under the radar, due to his size being relative to massive defensive ends, who are often in excess of three hundred pounds. However, it should be noted that speed was also a factor in the study, and Popular Mechanics made sure to highlight his forty yard dash time of 4.56 seconds. According to Dr. Timothy Gay, professor at the University of Nebraska, this can produce up to 1600 pounds of force. (Popular Mechanics). Furthermore, the article disturbingly explains the concept of “G-Max” and how it affects a player’s head and neck hitting a surface. The idea is illustrated by stating “To measure it, an object that approximates a human head and neck (about 20 sq. in. and 20 pounds) is dropped from a height of 2 ft. A low G-Max means the field absorbs more energy than the player. Trufant and Lewis landed on grass in Philly's new stadium, which has a cushy G-Max of just over 60. Synthetic surfaces have G-Max ratings of up to 120. The hardest turf: frozen grass.” (Popular Mechanics). Since hits like this typically happen upwards of one hundred times per game, it gives a terrifying look into just how many hits begin to trigger concussion related diseases within the brain. However, this doesn’t seem to deter players from participating in the sport, with the NFL having its highest talent level in decades. It’s quite possible that the allure of the money and lifestyle, as well as a love of the game that players spend their wholes lives perfecting, takes precedence over hopes of a longer life. 

Following a successful career at the University of Miami, Ray Lewis found himself drafted in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens. For the following seventeen years, he would go on to be one of the hardest hitting players in the league, would beat a murder charge, and would rack up numerous awards and two Super Bowl victories. These days he happens to be one of the most outspoken players when it comes to downplaying the prevalence of concussion issues taking over the game of football. Lewis recently appeared on an episode of Charlie Rose and made his position clear from the very start, saying ““One of the biggest things right now that’s disgusting, disgusting, in college football is now they’ve created a term that’s called ‘targeting,’ saying that if a player launches his head — which is the first thing on your body, it’s what you lead with — you launch your head into someone, and you collide with their helmet, that’s targeting. And they’re kicking babies out of games.” (Charlie Rose). Interestingly enough, the first thing that comes to mind is that safety measures are designed to make the game less fun. His argument is centered on the fact that there’s no way to avoid leading with your head in making a hit. When pressed by Rose for a direct answer on whether or not he is concerned with the possibility of having concussion problems later in his life, Lewis responds bluntly saying, “I think what I am concerned about is they’re taking the game, and they’re diluting the game, because they want to protect their claims. But if you leave the game alone, like always, the game will take care of itself.’’ (Charlie Rose). As usual, the allegation here is that the NFL doesn’t actually care too much about real player safety, but rather protecting themselves from future legal action from players with health problems stemming from their time in the league. This adds fuel to the fire of the argument that the NFL does not actually care about the wellbeing of the players they put on display every week. Despite being marketed for entertainment, at the end of the day teams must operate as a business and serve solely to turn a large profit. 

There is very little loyalty within teams, and there is very little hesitation to get rid of a player if they’re not completely living up to the high amount of money they are paid. Take for example the story of former 49ers quarterback Alex Smith, the former first overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft. After a rocky start to his career, he had finally found his way and led the 49ers to the playoffs for the first time in a decade following the conclusion of the 2011 regular season, falling short of a Super Bowl berth by a fumbled kickoff in overtime. Any fan at the time could make the safe assumption that a big contract extension was on the horizon for Smith, seeing as he was now hitting his prime and was at the helm of a Super Bowl caliber team. Unfortunately the game of football is cruel and unpredictable, and Smith suffered a mild concussion in week nine of the following season, after leading San Francisco to a 6-2 record at the midseason point. While his concussion was not serious and he was ready to play the following week, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh chose to keep second year quarterback Colin Kaepernick as a starter for at least another week following his impressive debut in relief of the injured Smith. When asked whether or not they would have to give back the job Smith lost to injury, Harbaugh commented "We'll make that determination as we go, but there's no rule," (ESPN), Smith never ended up getting that job back as Kaepernick ended up leading the team to a Super Bowl appearance, and in the offseason it was determined that the team would only keep the much younger more athletic Kaepernick, and Smith was promptly traded to Kansas City. The lack of loyalty may be a huge issue to players, who sacrifice their bodies for money and fame, and would prefer to play through problems rather than lose their jobs over a health issue that is out of their control.

With these patterns of actions it begs the question of how the league could become a safer environment and how we can cut down the long term effects of concussions. Every four years, some of the best cranial surgeons and neuroscientists convene in Zurich in order to effectively discuss advancements in the field and techniques to protect the brain going forward. Upon release of their publication, Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport, the Zurich Consensus Committee expects it to be referenced and utilized by physicians who deal in the field of sports medicine. They determined that the first most crucial thing that must be addressed when an athlete is suspected of having sustained a concussion is “[being] evaluated by a physician or other licensed health care provider on site using standard emergency management principles, and particular attention should be given to excluding a cervical spine injury.” (NIH Files). This is fairly similar to how medical care is provided in the aftermath of a car crash, and helps set a precedent on how important it is to treat sports concussions like any other major injury, despite some beliefs that it may not be as bad. They categorize the recovery period as roughly seven to ten days, and note that it may be a much longer recovery for children. This aspect is especially interesting as it begins to develop a sentiment that the long term treatment and recovery from concussion based illness starts in an athlete's childhood years. This idea is backed up by the Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2016 edition, in which they have a sample size of three hundred eighty-five ice hockey players between the ages of ten and fourteen. While two hundred ninety-two had no history of concussions, the rest of the children studied did have prior injuries. The study was done after the children followed the set standards for most effective concussion treatment, and the study concluded that “There are no differences in sensorimotor and/or cognitive performance across multiple parameters using KINARM end point robotic testing in children/adolescents with or without a history of concussion.” (Journal of Athletic Training). Furthermore, researchers are currently looking at the reliability of a new type of blood test that could most accurately determine how bad a concussion is, and how to most effectively treat it, touting their revolutionary test as “...eventually a blood test for a concussion will be as objective as diagnosing high cholesterol or a heart attack.” (Wall Street Journal). This would most certainly allow for an incredibly accurate look at how concussions develop, and would without a doubt become one of the better implementations that the NFL could make in the coming years. 

Despite how successful a blood test may be at diagnosing concussions, it could also act as a double edged sword, exposing just how much damage NFL hits can cause on the brain. The Wall Street Journal analyzes the possibility of this warning that “The test could help tamp down withering criticism that the league has ignored the effects of head injuries. But it may also reveal more vividly how dangerous the game really is—and potentially sideline more players for longer periods even if they aren’t suffering from obvious concussion-related symptoms.” (Wall Street Journal). While becoming more safe, it may not be the type of thing that the NFL is hesitant to approach when it begins affecting their bottom line. With increasing pressure against them, the NFL has been hesitant to acknowledge just how bad the health problems resulting from professional football can get. In The Huffington Post, a study was conducted on the perception of concussions, and their effect on society. They spoke with Dr. Paul Auerbach of Stanford Medical School regarding his prediction of the NFL’s policies going forward, and he reported, “I expect football and other games to become less aggressive in time, as data reveal the risks of traumatic brain injuries. In response, intelligent and caring proponents of safety in sports will hopefully make rules changes and enforce responses to injuries, such as appropriate return-to-play recommendations, to lessen the risks and improve outcomes. These interventions should be made immediately at the youth level.” (Huffington Post). This opinion falls in line with the belief of the doctors at Zurich, but also goes against the wishes of NFL players such as Ray Lewis, who had previously stated his desire for less intervention in the way the game is played. Despite these objections, as more medical data becomes available, we may begin to see fewer cases of CTE and long term injuries at the expense of a traditionally violent league. WHile this is not preferable for many, it can certainly allow less health issues, and less risk of losing employment with a player’s team due to any average injury sustained.

Despite the fact that the NFL has declared the league to be safer than ever before, it’s been no secret that reports of long term injuries and health issues, including CTE, are now coming to light at an alarming rate. While many players speak out against an increase in regulation, in order for a successful league that benefits both the players and teams, something needs to be settled upon. WHile it’s an awkward change, it’s in the long term best interest of all parties involved to make a revolutionary change to have concussions are diagnosed and treated, and that practice should certainly begin in childhood. However, with such volatile opinions from all sides, we may not see a full resolution anytime soon, if at all.
