High-profile second-year NFL linebacker Chris Borland announced his retirement last week, citing his fear of concussion risk and long-term brain damage. In doing so, he walked away from a good deal of money, choosing his long-term health over short-term riches and athletic glory.
It’s a telling moment for the sport and another damaging blow to a league already on the ropes.
The science is clear that the constant impact of bone-jarring hits is leading to increased risk of dementia, depression, Alzheimer’s and other brain-damaging conditions in a growing list of retired NFL players.
And the high-profile suicides of Hall of Famer Junior Seau and Chicago Bear Dave Duerson -- who purposely shot himself in the chest so his brain could be analyzed after his deat -- has provided ample weight to the physical destruction caused by the game.
Stand on the sidelines of any local high-school football game, and the intensity of the head-cracking, helmet-to-helmet collisions is staggering. Multiply that exponentially at the college level, and then again at the pro level where the players are bigger and faster, and it’s amazing that some of these athletes retain any cognitive function at all.
There’s billions of dollars at stake so the game is unlikely to fade away anytime soon.
But it’s folly to think that the game being played now will look the same in three, five, or 10 years. No matter how much money is involved, the marketplace will tire of seeing retired stars reduced to a shell of their former selves. And, without fundamental changes, parents will simply stop allowing their boys to play the game.
I’m Wester Wuori and that’s my perspective.
