Could an organization that is known for bringing family and friends together, praised for giving so many young men a chance to fulfill their dreams, and revered as being the ultimate goal for all who play the game, also be the cause of destruction in many individual’s lives?  The National Football League, NFL, has always held prestige and admiration from an enormous fan base and the startling amount of detrimental effects have always been kept away from the public’s view.  It was not until the 2015 featured film, Concussion, was released that people started to voice their concerns and take action. It is now starting to become publicly known that the organization has numerous negative side effects.  The NFL has caused its players to become physically handicapped, left with brain deteriorating diseases, and even resulting in death.  The mental effects have led to bankruptcy, divorce, depression, domestic abuse, suicide, and homicide.  What are the extend of these life altering effects and what is being done to help these players and their families?  After extensive research on the topic, this paper will describe the magnitude of the negative mental and physical side effects of playing a life in the NFL, and will do so by using reputable sources that provide facts, statistics, and personal stories of those affected. 

In recent years, the severity of concussions and head trauma received by athletes in any level of football has become more of a public debate. With startling and tragic stories making their way to headline news of players dealing with crippling and even fatal head injuries, the talk about whether or not football should be restricted has increased. One such story involves a young Texas high school football player, Journey Bailey, who had become too comfortable receiving his fair share of hard hits to the head. In what he would soon discover to be his last football game, Bailey sustained an especially hard hit that led him to become nauseous, lose consciousness, and waking up, in excruciating pain, in an emergency room (Bailey, Journey). Bailey, in his well-written, heart wrenching article, wrote about the experience in attempts to warn his fellow players.  His description of the painful procedures, seemingly impossible rehabilitation, and crippling depression led to the conclusion that, although Bailey will always have respect for the game, it was not worth losing the potential of his brain and the life he could have had (Bailey, Journey). 

Although there are many unsettling stories of youth, high school, and college football players receiving life altering brain injuries, playing long and hard enough to make it into the NFL comes with its own consequences.  Some of the most known effects from repetitive concussions include ALS, Alzheimer’s, dementia, and Parkinson’s; however, it is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), the main subject in the film Concussion, that has become an increasingly large concern for all football player’s and their families. 

CTE is a degenerative brain condition which means it causes parts of the brain, usually the temporal and frontal lobes, to deteriorate (‘What is CTE’). This deterioration begins when a stabilizing protein called Tau Protein is misshapen or deformed. Tau proteins are used for support in the central nervous system where they stabilize parts of neurons called microtubules. When these proteins change shape and become deformed, they are sent into the cells where they form clumps (‘What is CTE’). As they grown in size, these clumps begin to kill the neurons and therefore result in the failure for the neurons to communicate. Since this degeneration occurs in the frontal and temporal lobes, memory, impulse control, and emotional stability are some of the most common side effects (‘What is CTE’).  This process happens at a slowly increasing rate so CTE is considered a delayed consequence of the numerous mild traumatic brain injuries these players receive throughout their life in the game (‘What is CTE’). 

In a study done in September of 2015, 87 of the total 91 deceased NFL players tested positive for CTE  (Breslow, Jason). Out of total 165 men brought to the lab who have played at some level of football in their lifetime, 131 of them had brain tissue affected by CTE (Breslow, Jason). With forty percent of these former players holding positions as defensive and offensive linemen, it proves that the condition is a result of the milder but repetitive hits these players withstand in every play of the game and not so much as the intense but occasional hits that other positions have to deal with (Breslow, Jason). 

Retired Minnesota Viking linebacker, Fred McNeill started experiencing the many consequences of CTE after retiring in 1985.  McNeill was said to be a family man, a loving husband and a supportive, caring father of two sons (Kounang, Nadia). Leaving the NFL has proven to be a difficult transition for many players; however, McNeill spent his last season in the league preparing for life without football.  When retirement came around, McNeill was already set up with his law degree and working as a partner for a firm. Taking care of his family, dealing with finances, and giving constant support to his two sons, who considered their father as their best friend, McNeill proved to be a responsible and loving man even after leaving the spot light. It was not until a few years passed that McNeill’s loved ones started to see a change in his mental abilities and personality (Kounang, Nadia). What started as forgetting things every so often turned into completely forgetting to pick up his children from school or even where he lived and emotional ups and downs turned into uncontrollable anger or depression that was affecting the whole family. After separation, bankruptcy, and losing her home, McNeill’s wife, Tia, decided to take things into her own hands and did her own research (Kounang, Nadia).  It did not take her long to find a doctor, Dr. Omalu, who was able to guess every change Tia had been seeing in her husband and by the end of their first conversation, Omalu firmly believed McNeill was suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE. After running tests, Omalu and his colleagues were convinced that Fred McNeill had this degenerative brain disease; however, many critics believed it was too early to diagnose McNeill and the results were not precise enough.  Because of this, McNeill was not diagnosed and his condition quickly worsened (Kounang, Nadia). 

Eventually, McNeill was checked into a care community where he spent the rest of his years dealing with dementia, depression, and many other crippling conditions. It was not until 2014 that McNeill was finally diagnosed with ALS, a disease that is four times as likely for former football players (Kounang, Nadia). About a year later, McNeill’s family brought him home for his last couple of days in which he passed on November 5, 2015 (Kounang, Nadia). After an autopsy, doctors were finally able to conclude, although not surprised, that McNeill did in fact suffer from CTE and might have been the first living diagnosis (Kounang, Nadia). 

CTE has been described and questioned since 1928; however, its name was not given and used until 2005 when the well-known case of former NFL player Mike Webster was diagnosed (‘What is CTE’). Unlike the case of Fred McNeill, the multitude of other players who become victims of CTE will not be diagnosed until post mortem. After CTE was given its name and similar cases were appearing in many players, funding was given for researchers to learn more about this troubling disease and to find out if it can be accurately diagnosed before it is too late.  The issue many doctors have when trying to diagnose CTE is that its symptoms of dementia, irritability, aggression, depression, and general emotional instability are too similar to those of ALS, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease which all happen to be found too often in former NFL players (‘What is CTE’).  Because of this difficulty, researchers have been looking for better ways to identify CTE before death. 

 Many brain imaging technologies have been developed in attempts to catch this disease while the suspected victim is still living; however, these processes have not been able to give clear and precise results that indicate the deterioration is a result of CTE and not one of the other similar conditions.  

 For years, the National Football League refused to acknowledge the startling reality of the amount of former players that dealt with lifelong head trauma. From 2003 to 2009, what was once known as the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee, formed by the NFL, continually persisted to say, in a stack of scientific essays, that none of their former or current players have ever received chronic head trauma from playing in the league (Breslow, Jason). They even tried to claim that the players do no endure constant hits to the head. In 2015, the film Concussion, featuring Will Smith, came out and put some unwanted publicity on the NFL and what they were doing to help lessen the issue. Later that year, in the Health and Safety report, the NFL claimed that concussions, during the last two seasons, had dropped 35 percent.  Other analysis over the same timeline state that the decrease was less than that, closer to 28 percent (Breslow, Jason).  In 2010 the NFL gave a 1 million dollar grant to the brain bank to help with this research and so by the year 2015, the organization was able to gloat about its decrease in head trauma received by its players (Breslow, Jason). 

The NFL has attempted to receive good press by reevaluating safety rules and implementing new sideline technology produced from millions of dollars in research investments; however, the constant blows continue to affect over half of these men’s lives and the lives of their families. Because so many players are still being affected and the spotlight is still beating down heavily on the NFL, the league created a settlement, close to 1 billion dollars, for 5,000 former players who will have to endure lifelong head trauma (Price, Brian). Although players are receiving compensation and money is being poured into research, the question, first posed by Journey Bailey, that still remains is, is it worth it? 

The physically damaging effects of the NFL take a number of lives on their own, but what about those who do not suffer from CTE, ALS, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s? One might believe that after the NFL these men continue a life of luxury as they have fulfilled their dream and received a decent amount of cash while doing so; however, that is quite far from the truth. Most of the men who retire from the NFL deal with the difficulty of no longer being in the spot light, no longer having a regimented schedule, and no long having a constant inflow of cash. Without the structure and fame of being a part of the National Football League, most of these men deal with depression, bankruptcy, unemployment, divorce, and some even become suicidal, abusive, and criminal. In a conference held by the Professional Athletes Outreach program statistics were released that stated 78 percent of NFL athletes, within three years of retirement, will end up bankrupt, jobless, or divorced (Bishop, Greg).  Many factors contribute to these unfortunate outcomes. Recent studies found in a Forbes article state that there are five basic reason players go bankrupt: lack of competent financial planning, supporting extended family, divorce, lack of awareness, and lack of skills for finding a new career (Steinberg, Leigh). All of these factors are due to the fact that these players are not properly prepared for sustaining a healthy life without the support of the NFL. When divorce and bankruptcy become a part of these former players lives, depression, anxiety, abuse and criminal behave follow.  

George Koonce, former NFL linebacker for multiple teams, was one of many players that dealt with the emotional difficulty of leaving the NFL. Koonce, retired in 2000 after his wife told him his playing days were over (Holstein, James).  The phones had stopped calling and George was faced with the same question that every retired player asks themselves, who am I now (Holstein, James)? Koonce spent his days around the house, watching reruns on T.V, doing anything to avoid getting back to the real world.  Soon it became difficult for Koonce to even get out of bed.  It was not until one day, while driving home, Koonce took a turn going 75 miles per hour because he “just didn’t care.”  Somehow, after flipping and landing in a ditch, Koonce survived and was awaken to see that there is more to life than the NFL and he has so much more to live for (Holstein, James). However, Koonce was one of the lucky ones, since the establishment of the NFL in 1920, 26 identified professional football players have committed suicide (Webner, David). Beyond bankruptcy, divorce, and suicide, there have been many stories found in the news of players abusing drugs and alcohol, accused of domestic abuse and even homicide. 

The NFL has developed optional programs provided for their players to help with their transition into a new career and a new life; however, many of these players do not believe they need the help and do not seek support until it has become too late. Most of these programs help with finding new careers but lack the guidance the players need when dealing with the loss of motivation and drive, the emptiness, and the inflated ego. As of now, there are no mandatory classes or programs that players must go through in order to assure a healthy life on their own.  I believe that these such classes should be taken into consideration or to go even further and require players to prepare for a new career during their offseason training before they are allowed back on the field. It is programs like this, ones that players must go through, that will help reduce the negative effects of leaving the spotlight.  

In a recent book written by Daniel Flynn titled The War on Football: Saving America’s Game, Flynn voices the argument against restricting football or implementing new regulations that will change the game.  Flynn’s main argument against possible new protocols is that it is the player’s choice as to whether or not they want to take the risks of playing the game.  He speaks about the love of the game, and the player’s desire to fulfill their dreams.  This is a tough argument to avoid because, in the end, it is up to the player if they want to take the risks or not; however, there is much to consider.  Most of these men, starting football very young, are not aware of what the risks of playing are. Information and research on physical consequences of the NFL such as CTE, ALS, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, are all still being developed and have only recently been brought to the public’s attention. These young men, players like Journey Bailey, deserve to be educated on the possible consequences they might face, such as losing the full potential of their brain because they sustained too many hits to the head. Later on, when these same men make it to the NFL and survive long enough to retire, the divorce, bankruptcy, depression, suicide and abuse does not just affect them, but takes a toll on their families, friends, and community. Yes, football has long been a huge part of American culture and there is no intention of it being completely erased from society but at some point the players, their families, and the fans have to wonder, is it worth it? 

The NFL has undoubtedly brought a lot of happiness, success, and entertainment to people all over the world; however, after learning about the negative consequences that have been kept in the dark for many years, it does make one wonder if it is all worth it.  With physical risks such as CTE, ALS, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and dementia, and emotional and mental effects including depression, divorce, bankruptcy, suicide, abuse and homicide, does the NFL produce results that do more harm than good? There are many stories similar to  McNeill’s and Koonce’s that are evidence of just how severe, yet common, these consequences are.  Although the National Football League has made attempts to reduce the problems, not enough is being done to stop the financial crises, divorces, suicides, and deaths due to head trauma. No one wants to change or restrict an organization that has brought so many families together, given so many individuals a chance, and provided a source of entertainment for people everywhere, but the risks are becoming more exposed and the balance between the benefits and consequences might need to be questioned. 

 