OT: Aaron Hernandez found to have "SEVERE CTE"

[Dback Jon]

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/09/21/a...m&utm_medium=social&xid=socialflow_twitter_si

Former Patriots tight end and convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez had “severe” CTE when he committed suicide in a Massachusetts prison, Boston University announced Thursday.

Hernandez’s brain, which was donated after his death, was examined by Dr. Ann McKee at Boston University. Dr. McKee diagnosed Herandez with Stage 3 CTE (out of four) and released images of his brain which show early brain atrophy and “severe deposition” of the protein associated with CTE. The disease is believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head, which is why it often affects football players, hockey players and boxers.

 

[Redneck Voodoo]

Sometimes I hate that I love this game.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

When they say "early" brain atrophy, that means that it happened while he was relatively young (20ish v. 80ish), right? Not that it happened early in his specific life?

 

[overseascardfan]

Sometimes I hate that I love this game.

No one is forcing them to play. If their health is of that big of a concern they should just do something else.

 

[TheCardFan]

Sad.

Football has to change then (new helmets or no helmets?). How is this sustainable?

I can also see why there are players dealing with potential retirement.

"Symptoms of CTE, which occur in four stages, generally appear 8 to 10 years after an athlete experiences repetitive mild traumatic brain injury.[2]

First-stage symptoms include Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as well as confusion, disorientation, dizziness, and headaches. Second-stage symptoms include memory loss, social instability, impulsive behavior, and poor judgment. Third and fourth stages include progressive dementia, movement disorders, hypomimia, speech impediments, sensory processing disorder, tremors, vertigo, deafness, depression and suicidality.

Additional symptoms include dysarthria, dysphagia, cognitive disorder such as amnesia, and ocular abnormalities, such as ptosis.[3]"

 

[Brak]

Hernandez was a thug from a very early age - CTE didn't cause that. Yet another "not my fault!" claim. Victimhood is all the rage nowadays.

 

[Dback Jon]

Hernandez was a thug from a very early age - CTE didn't cause that. Yet another "not my fault!" claim. Victimhood is all the rage nowadays.

Yes and no.

We don't know how early the CTE started. And we don't know if the CTE turned him from a thug to a murderer.

He is responsible for his actions, yes. Did brain injury contribute to his actions? Still unknown in research, but some of the symptoms of severe CTE (paranoia, mood swings, violent outbursts) point that way.

 

[ARZCardinals]

I forgot he was dead

They're going to open Gronk's head and find no brain at all....just a mass of CTE.

 

[Shaggy]

I'm sorry but suing the league? Give me a break. The players all knew that they taking a risk when they started playing football at a young age.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

Not why suing the league..... He was shooting people back in college...........

 

[GatorAZ]

How many ex players in jail are calling their lawyers after this news?

 

[splitsecond]

The first thing I wondered is how much his drug use - in particular his PCP use - may have accelerated, contributed or caused the damage. PCP absolutely destroys the brain.

 

[NJCardFan]

Thousands if not millions of people have played this game, a lot professionally and some got CTE out of it but they didn't become murderers because of it.


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[Redneck Voodoo]

No one is forcing them to play. If their health is of that big of a concern they should just do something else.

I could agree with this 100% if the NFL hadn't kept the consequences hidden for so long.

 

[WisconsinCard]

All this makes me wonder how many people that never played sports have this too? They need to compare the average Joe to these athletes brains.

 

[Dback Jon]

All this makes me wonder how many people that never played sports have this too? They need to compare the average Joe to these athletes brains.

Yup - just have to get enough people to donate brains

 

[ajcardfan]

Thousands if not millions of people have played this game, a lot professionally and some got CTE out of it but they didn't become murderers because of it.


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There is no excusing the murders. He was given justice. Deserved.

That has nothing to do with the fact he had CTE however.

 

[WisconsinCard]

Yup - just have to get enough people to donate brains

They can have mine, but I had about 170 amateur boxing matches starting from age 12 to 22. So not sure that would help much.

 

[ajcardfan]

I could agree with this 100% if the NFL hadn't kept the consequences hidden for so long.

that's what most football fans don't want to think about. The NFL ACTIVELY denied and tried to suppress the data on concussions and CTE for years. They led actively led players to believe they were ok and did not have to worry about long term effects of brain injuries.

That is why this PARTICULAR health issue is different than the other health issues for NFL players that have long been known.

 

[vince56]

Thousands if not millions of people have played this game, a lot professionally and some got CTE out of it but they didn't become murderers because of it.


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While I think we can all agree CTE didn't make him a murderer, I bet it played a part in his suicide. I too disagree with them suing the league, however there are a lot of these players with CTE that wind up dead by their own hands.

 

[Cards_Campos]

This is also not scientific. There is a Huge article by a brain specialist and neurologist that says CTE isn't just caused by head Trauma ...Danny Kanell posted it on Twitter. I'll post it

 

[Cards_Campos]

https://www.yahoo.com/amphtml/sports/im-brain-scientist-let-son-play-football-135727314.html

 

[oaken1]

I would love to be on that jury.

college is responsible for his cte

high school may be responsible for his cte

fighting too much as a kid may be responsible for his cte

he wasnt in the nfl long enough to suffer long term repeated head trauma

if cte can make you kill yourself...can it make you kill someone else?? Not enough studies to be sure but brain damage is brain damage right? so maybe it can? which means he probably had cte comeing in to the league.

way too much reasonable doubt to find the nfl responsible for this guys suicide
it is far more likely that just like many non celebs,..he found himself facing life in hell and decided to just end it

 

[oaken1]

While I think we can all agree CTE didn't make him a murderer, I bet it played a part in his suicide. I too disagree with them suing the league, however there are a lot of these players with CTE that wind up dead by their own hands.

cte is the scapegoat but there is psychology involved with those suicides as well.

dudes spend their entire lives being superstars, living large and being "important"..
suddenly they are just another dude, nobody wants to pay them to come to an event and many of them are broke. Lots of these guys cannot handle life once they are no longer "special"... I had a buddy that spent years trying to get past that aspect of it.

 

[overseascardfan]

I could agree with this 100% if the NFL hadn't kept the consequences hidden for so long.

I mean after all the information came out. There were a couple of guys that retired early, most notably Calvin Johnson but most of the young guys see the fame and fortune and feel it outweighs the risk. Old school players I understand a little bit but common sense that getting your bell rung on a constant basis could not be good for your long term health. Back then money wasn't the main reason for them playing, they could have made the same money being something else, hell most had second jobs in the off season to make ends meet.