Chris Borland, a linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers, announced his retirement from the NFL this week. Borland had a reasonably productive rookie year and was expected to play larger role in the team's defensive schemes this coming season. Most analysts expected he would be one of the team's starters. So why would an otherwise healthy, productive, up and coming player walk away from such a once in a lifetime opportunity? Apparently he got his bell rung during training camp last August but didn't tell anyone because he was a rookie trying to make an impression. Afterwards, the experience gnawed at him and he did a little private independent research on repetitive head trauma in NFL players. A portion of Borland's statement:
"I just honestly want to do what's best for my health," Borland told "Outside the Lines." "From what I've researched and what I've experienced, I don't think it's worth the risk."
So yeah. On the cusp of stardom, his dream job in hand, the dude walks away because he didn't want to end up like Junior Seau and Dave Duerson and Jovan Belcher and Justin Strzelcyzk and Terry Long and Chris Henry and Andre Waters and Mike Webster and Tony Dorsett and Ray Easterling and John Mackey and Gene Hickerson and Ted Johnson and Owen Thomas and 17 year old Nathan Stiles and on and on and on. The now well-described ravages of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) gave him pause, and he justifiably flinched. And he walked away while he still had the cognitive wherewithal to do so.
The NFL responded as follows:
The NFL responded as follows:
By any measure, football has never been safer and we continue to make progress with rule changes, safer tackling techniques at all levels of football, and better equipment, protocols and medical care for players. Concussions in NFL games were down 25 percent last year, continuing a three-year downward trend. We continue to make significant investments in independent research to advance the science and understanding of these issues. We are seeing a growing culture of safety
This is a deeply misleading, cynical statement. The consensus opinion of scientists and doctors is that CTE represents a chronic degenerative brain injury that occurs after the accumulated effect of repetitive head blows, both minor and major. Whether the traumatic event qualifies as a concussion or not is irrelevant to the pathophysiology of CTE. And the NFL knows this. The NFL is a craven, exploitative, multi-billion dollar monopolistic industry that spits out broken shells of men when they have out-lived their usefulness. But at least we have been entertained.....
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