Brain injuries are a problem that is becoming increasingly common with the increase of injuries in sports. The majority of sports have been ignoring the brain injuries that are associated with their respective sports. For instance, Ken Mcclain a lawyer whose firm represents plaintiffs who received brain injuries while playing football states, “Certainly, Hall of Famers who contributed greatly to building the franchise add to the urgency for the team to find a just resolution, rather than try to ignore it or act like they had nothing to do with it.” This shows that this is a common problem that lawyers have been working with for quiet awhile.
What Is The NFL Doing About It?
According to research, a lot of past NFL players have died as a result of their concussions from playing. Two examples include junior Seau and Ray Esterling. Both of these players commited suicide after being diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Attorneys have been calling for a national settlement.
When Did This Start?
According to our sources the degenerative brain diseases may have begun when the athletes were playing sports as children and young adults. The research behind this is also showing that children who are playing sports today could be at risk for the same problem down the road. This means that kids playing sports should be careful, and may look into filing a lawsuit as well.
Chris Nowinski states, “We don’t know what the age of onset is with any of these cases, There is reason to believe it can begin when a child is very young.” This means that we don’t know the exact reason for these tough cases, but we can track a lot of it to their childhoods. As stated above, this means that parents of students or kids who are playing football should be careful with their kids health.
What is Being Done About It?
Nowinski is recommending that we raise awareness in athletes. If athletes understand the health issues that they may have due to their sporting activities, they may be able to prevent these problems. Being aware of the possible head issues will help athletes realize if they have any issues, and the earlier the treatment the better prepared they can be to solve the problem. Also the coaches should be aware of the issue. A problem is that most organizations are denying that there is any problem, even though good evidence exists.
Has The NFL Paid Out In A Settlement?
The NFL has settled with some players to the tune of $765 million. However, a lot of retired players don’t believe that this is worth it. For instance Craig Morton opted out of receiving the settlement so that he could sue the NFL for not helping players with this problem. Other examples include Brett Farve, who suffers from short term memory loss. Both of these player are examples of people who are looking for answers from the NFL. Who seems to know about these issues but isn’t doing anything to address the root problem.
Matt Connoly of Mother Jones is a local reporter formerly with the Washington Examiner.
