The National Football League has made bold proclamations about trying to make the game safer for its players. If they truly mean what they say, they have a lot of work to do.
A recent PBS report reveals research conducted at Boston University and the department of Veterans Affairs found a staggering 96 percent of NFL players that were studied tested positive for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE.
An alarming 87 of 91 deceased former NFL players tested had some form of the degenerative brain disease that’s believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head. Doctors say CTE leads to conditions including memory loss, depression and dementia.
The brain of the late Junior Seau was not part of this study, even though B.U. touts itself as the official brain bank of the NFL due to a $1 million research grant the league awarded it and the fact it has studied more specimens from former professional football players than any other entity in America (Seau’s brain was studied by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, where five separate experts concluded the Chargers' Hall of Fame linebacker did, indeed, suffer from CTE).
Researchers in the Boston University study looked at the brains of people who played football either professionally, semi-professionally, in college or in high school. In all, 165 specimens were examined. An alarming 79 percent of those tested positive for CTE, meaning even if a football player never reaches the National Football League there’s a 58 percent chance he’ll develop CTE.
One of the more surprising and potentially disturbing aspects of the report was information about the brains of offensive and defensive linemen. The findings suggest that those players who are hitting their heads repeatedly, resulting in even minor head trauma were at the greatest risk of problems later. Doctors previously believed the most violent collisions that caused concussions were more dangerous.
Ann McKee, the Boston University doctor who runs the lab, said this latest research is remarkably consistent with past studies that link football and long-term brain disease. A spokesperson for the NFL responded to the PBS report through a statement:
"We are dedicated to making football safer and continue to take steps to protect players, including rule changes, advanced sideline technology, and expanded medical resources."
The league spokesperson also pointed out it is funding a portion of this research. In addition to the $1 million to Boston University, the NFL awarded the N.I.H. $30 million. That money was handed out just four months after Seau's diagnosis.
The league is attempting to gather data about concussions. It assembled a program that collects information using sensors placed in helmets during the 2013 season but suspended that program for the 2015 season. They said the sensors are not accurate enough.
The NFL Players Association also voiced concerns about the data leaking out and being used against players in contract negotiations.
However, the more than 11,000 pieces of data that have been collected will still be studied to try and find a way to improve the technology.
