Frontline: League of Denial

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Frontline: League of Denial
Started by MIKETOUHY, Oct 13 2013 01:44 PM

10 replies to this topic

#1 MIKETOUHY
Forum Visitors
Posted 13 October 2013 - 01:44 PM
Anyone this past week watch the Frontline special on the head concussions?

As always, I never know how to feel on these things.

#2 JohnR
PFRA Member
Posted 13 October 2013 - 03:05 PM
My take away...
We can't find a self-respecting neurologist to refute these findings so a rheumatologist will have to do.

#3 Moran
PFRA Member
Posted 13 October 2013 - 03:16 PM
I thought about Mel Hein who was diagnosed with alzeheimers and wondered if it was CTE - i don't think the NFL knew some dark secret and kept it from the players but I do think their economic self interest made them negligently resistant to the facts.

#4 MatthewToy
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Posted 14 October 2013 - 01:43 AM
The Mike Webster stuff was really sad. He deserved better.

#5 Kelly1105
PFRA Member
Posted 14 October 2013 - 08:58 AM
Moran, on 13 Oct 2013 - 3:16 PM, said:
I thought about Mel Hein who was diagnosed with alzeheimers and wondered if it was CTE - i don't think the NFL knew some dark secret and kept it from the players but I do think their economic self interest made them negligently resistant to the facts.

I agree with that statement but I would also ask how can you suffer concussion after concussion and not think sooner or later permanent damage would occur?

#6 BD Sullivan
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Posted 14 October 2013 - 05:13 PM

Probably the same way that cigarette smokers 50-60 years ago saw ads in which many doctors and dentists stated that smoking wasn't bad for you, or had no problem with cartoon characters promoting smoking.

#7 Kelly1105
PFRA Member
Posted 15 October 2013 - 08:21 AM
I would say there are some differences between smoking and concussions. I have never heard of anyone being addicted to having concussions. I don't know of any doctors saying concussions aren't bad for you but on the other hand I suppose they didn't know long term effects until recently.

#8 BD Sullivan
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Posted 15 October 2013 - 10:15 AM
Kelly1105, on 15 Oct 2013 - 08:21 AM, said:
I would say there are some differences between smoking and concussions. I have never heard of anyone being addicted to having concussions. I don't know of any doctors saying concussions aren't bad for you but on the other hand I suppose they didn't know long term effects until recently.

True, but it's the same principle: both the football player and smoker (should) go into this aware of the dangers. Is anyone dumb enough to think that smashing your head against something hundreds of times a year for 10-20 years won't have any lasting effects? Which is just like the smoker who wants to sue the tobacco company for causing his cancer. When didhe realize that blowing nicotine-laden smoke into his lungs for decades wasn't a good idea?

#9 3243
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Posted 17 October 2013 - 04:38 AM
On the one hand, it seems to play into Roger Squidell's ongoing project of turning the NFL into a flag-football league. On the other, the NFL should not have covered up what they knew about head injuries for years (so they would not have to feel pressured into compensating so many of their former players). They also should have switched to helmets that provided more protection than Riddell's headgear and done more to prevent teams from rushing (or coaxing or simply quietly allowing) concussed players back onto the field.

I think the widespread use of artificial turf fields played into the concussion/injury problem too.

#10 JohnH19
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Posted 20 October 2013 - 01:21 AM
3243, on 17 Oct 2013 - 04:38 AM, said:
They also should have switched to helmets that provided more protection than Riddell's headgear and done more to prevent teams from rushing (or coaxing or simply quietly allowing) concussed players back onto the field.

Players wouldn't lead with their heads if they went back to leather helmets. The better "protected" the players feel they are, the more reckless they are.

#11 Jeffrey Miller
PFRA Member
Posted 20 October 2013 - 09:43 AM
I played little league and high school football, and we were never taught anything about concussions. I am sure I had two or three back then. While I have no doubt that head injuries in the pros are more severe and more frequent, I can't help but wonder much damage was done to these individuals before they even got to the NFL.

[ChrisBabcock]

The Mike Webster stuff was really sad. He deserved better.

oh absolutely. One thing that struck a chord with me was someone was recounting a conversation they had with him. Mike said someone came up to him once......
"Hey, aren't you Mike Webster?"
He replied...
"No, but I used to be."