We shake our heads when we hear on our Kentucky radio station that the latest and greatest football players have gotten a salary increase and are making many millions of dollars a year—for playing a game! Most of us will never in our lifetimes see the amount of money professional football players get for playing a single season.
But we have an advantage over these multimillionaires: we are much less likely to develop a degenerative brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Disturbing Statistics
Earlier this year, ABC News reported the results of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research study that showed a high number of abnormalities in former professional football players’ brains. A 2009 University of Michigan study revealed that more than 90 percent of 34 deceased former NFL players who had donated their brains to science had confirmed cases of CTE.
A Cumulative Effect
According to Harvard University neurologist Dr. Marie Pasinski, brain trauma usually begins long before an athlete goes professional. She attributes CTE to repeated brain injuries, not a single instance. Because a player does not display any obvious symptoms of concussion, coaches often assume that no injury has occurred and the player is O.K. to continue playing.
So the next time you hear that a professional football player just signed a contract for several million dollars over the next four years, remember that you will likely have a healthier brain later in life than he will.
If your loved one’s Kentucky brain injury is a result of someone else’s actions or negligence, contact a Louisville brain injury lawyer at Gray and White Law. Call us at 502-210-8942 or toll free at 888-450-4456 to set up a FREE, no-obligation consultation.
