an advocate

as someone who has had 3 concussions and has faced the repercussions of them, i am just baffled at how ignorant the NFL is at admitting that their sport causes serious, significant, permanent, life-altering injuries.

with my passion for sports and love of documentaries, i have watched a bunch of different films that provide an undercover/in-depth perspective of life after the NFL.  one such documentary, blood equity, is available for free right now on hulu.  it's not the best look into the life of a former NFL player, but it definitely shows how debilitating the injuries can be--not just for you, but for your loved ones as well.

the facts are pretty straightforward: the NFL consistently refuses to pay for procedures and surgeries of former players.  the NFL only provides players with insurance for 5 years after they retire.  (most life altering injuries do not occur until after a player has been out of the league for 5 years.)  the NFL continues to allocate a ridiculously small portion of its general fund to concussion, traumatic brain injury, and neurological research.  this is the same NFL that had over $7 billion in its coffers as of 2008.  that number is only going to grow exponentially.

the reason i write this is because less than a few hours ago it was announced that junior seau committed suicide near san diego.  junior was my favorite defensive player growing up.  he was one of the few players who still made an impact at the tail end of his career.  he was a dominant force who had entire offenses scheming on how to take him out of a play to expose every other weakness of the defense.

he was a great guy.  but he was also a guy with a history of concussions, head injuries, and a plethora of other physical problems he probably neglected to tell anyone about.  he battled on the field.  he wouldn't come out of games.  the trauma to his brain likely was augmented by these decisions.  i understand he had a passion and fire for the game that was unmatched by anyone.  and that he ultimately chose to stay in the games.  but dang it, NFL researchers, this is another suicide that could have been prevented.

seau was found dead with a self-inflicted wound to his chest.  this was eerily reminiscent of the way that dave duerson committed suicide.  duerson intentionally killed himself in the chest so that researchers could use his brain for scientific purposes to further prove that the NFL and head injuries cause life-altering problems that can lead to manic depression and, in some cases, suicide.  i can't help but wonder if seau did the same thing.

RIP, junior.  you will be sorely missed.