Blame the Gun, Not the NFL

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Recommended: Concussions over the past 30 years in the NFL

The National Football League is long to be blamed for not only for the deaths of several players but as well the medical conditions sustained after many years of being on the game. In the past years several players have taken their lives due to their career in the NFL. In most cases it was because of blows to the head that had most players diagnosed with CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) and caused them to take their own lives. Families and friends want to blame the NFL yet evidence shows that the NFL is not the one pulling the trigger. When NFL linebacker Junior Seau retired in 2010, he seemed set for life, yet two years later, he was dead. Eight months after Seau’s death, the scientists who looked further into the cause of his death declared that they had found evidence of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a nerve disease linked to concussions, which has been a reason in the deaths of many NFL players. Despite this fact, during Seau’s retirement he withdrew from his family and friends, made bad business decisions, gambled large with large amounts, as well abused pills and alcohol. As NFL player Warren Moon stated, “One thing I read that was peculiar to me—he had never been diagnosed with a concussion. That tells me he wasn't reporting what was wrong with him. For a guy that played linebacker for twenty years, somewhere in there he would've had a concussion.” Seau’s family and the media are wanting to blame the NFL for Seau’s death yet how you can blame a game for Seau’s actions? The NFL is not to blame for him not reporting his game injuries and keeping them a secret. They NFL did not make him drink, gamble, pop pills nor make terrible decisions that untimely led to his death. Yet another situation in which NFL is the blam... ... middle of paper ... ...he Huffington Post. Retrieved January 15, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/14/jovan-belcher-autopsy-drunk-chiefs_n_2473140.html?utm_hp_ref=jovan-belcher Gavaghan, J. (2012, April 23). Former NFL star kills himself after lifetime of depression 'brought on by concussion during career' - the SECOND in a year. Mail Online. Retrieved January 16, 2014, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2133869/Ray-Easterling-dead-NFL-star-kills-lifetime-depression-brought-concussion.html Wyatt, J. (n.d.). Titans WR O.J. Murdock killed by self-inflicted gunshot. USATODAY.COM. Retrieved January 16, 2014, from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/titans/story/2012-07-30/OJ-Murdock-obit/56589588/1 Staff, N. (2012, August 1). O.J. Murdock's Final Words. NewsOne Now. Retrieved January 12, 2014, from http://newsone.com/2028350/o-j-murdock-suicide-texts/

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