Head Trauma In Football

The year was 2006. There was a mid-season game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New Orleans Saints going on. Saints rookie running back Reggie Bush lined up in the backfield in preparation for the next play. The quarterback hiked the ball and threw a screen pass to Reggie; he did not see Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown coming right toward him. The hit left Reggie stunned and he quickly got up and fell right back down (normally a sign of a major concussion). But the problem is not just occurring with current NFL players. Former players have not received the protection they deserve either. Lets look at former four-time Super Bowl champion, Mike Webster, a nine time Pro-Bowler. Mike played center for the Pittsburg Steelers.

After he retired he started to show signs of dementia, delusion, paranoia, loss of memory, and explosive behavior. Doctors also found signs of a brain disease call CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). Mike lost all of his money and was soon homeless and living in a truck! He could not even dress himself. He had to use super glue to hold his rotting teeth in place. He filed a disability claim with the NFL; they gave him about $3,000 a month. A doctor later said that based on Mike’s disability level, he should have been given more money. Mike later died at the age of 50. His brain was later examined and was shown to have symptoms of CTE. This is why it should be mandatory for the NFL to provide enough protection for their players during and after their careers.
These stories are just some of the examples of how the NFL disregards player safety and only cares about its profit and holding up its image.

When doctors brought the NFL the brain of Mike Webster and said that the reason he developed certain head traumas was because of the many collisions he received on the football field without proper treatment, the NFL discredited them and said that there was not enough information to make that assumption. Head trauma is not the only area where the NFL fails to protect its players. Take retired Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Reggie Williams, a former winner of the NFL Man of the Year Award. Reggie played 14 seasons in the NFL from 1976 to 1989. But since retirement he has undergone 24 knee operations, which have left his right leg in utter disrepair. I in fact his right leg is three inches shorter than his left. He has had health problems since 2005. These problems have cost him around 500,000 dollars, none of which the NFL was offered any help in paying. Reggie was turned down when he applied for workers’ compensation from the Bengals. The workers’ compensation would have provided him with money for his Medicare. The NFL should be required to help pay for former players’ Medicare bills if they need help. The NFL also needs to revise its disability benefits guidelines since most retirees do not quality for them and the ones that do not receive much money from

them.
It is clear that the NFL needs to be held accountable for its players and former players. Critics argue that the current NFL health insurance lasts only five years after retirement. This is not enough and players whose careers lasted fewer than three seasons do not qualify for it at all! The NFL’s Disabilities Board has a denial rate of about 60 percent. Also since the NFL refuses to pay former players adequate amounts of money for their health, the players file claims in worker friendly states and when those claims and or avenues for medical care become exhausted, the cost of their healthcare can fall on the taxpayer. This is why it should be mandatory for the NFL to provide enough protection for their players during and after their careers.