BU study more ammo for youth gridiron opponents
A landmark Boston University study has found a degenerative disease linked to repeated head trauma in nearly every brain donated by former NFL athletes, and even three from high school football players — a finding that breathes new life into the argument against youth football leagues.
Post-mortem tests for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, came up positive for 110 of the 111 brains donated from NFL players to the BU Medical School, which collaborated with local Veterans Administration hospitals and the Concussion Legacy Foundation. Three of 14 former high school players showed signs of the condition. It was found in brains of 14 semi-professional players and 48 of 53 college players.
“This sort of data on the risks of concussion and trauma to the developing brain support that we should delay tackle football,” said Chris Nowinski, cofounder of Waltham-based CLF. “This is an incredible study because there’s never been a CTE brain bank like this one.”
The issue of football concussions exploded after a number of pro players exhibited the potentially life-altering effects of head injury — including former New England Patriots linebacker Junior Seau, who killed himself in 2012.
An NFL statement said: “The medical and scientific communities will benefit from this publication and the NFL will continue to work with a wide range of experts to improve the health of current and former NFL athletes. As noted by the authors, there are still many unanswered questions relating to the cause, incidence and prevalence of long-term effects of head trauma such as CTE.”
A class-action lawsuit, meanwhile, has targeted Pop Warner, the nation’s largest youth football league.
The brains of former high school players showed how dangerous football can be even at young ages.
“It was surprising that we found it across all different levels, including high school,” said Michael Alosco of BU’s CTE Center, an author on the study. “It definitely raises come concerns. But we still don’t know what it means in terms of policy.”
The brains studied by Alosco and his colleagues were donated by people between 29 and 79 at the time of death. Causes included neurodegenerative disease, cardiac illness, cancer and suicide. Those who died younger — between 29 and 64 — were found to have more mild signs of CTE, showing the condition worsens over time.
The biggest risk for younger players is “second impact syndrome,” which occurs when someone who is concussed is hit again, causing a dangerous brain bleed and even death.
“Children are more pliable, their muscles aren’t as developed yet,” said Douglas Comeau of BU’s Ryan Center for Sports Medicine. “They’re still learning how to hit.”
Brian Sanders, president and CEO of youth league i9 Sports, encourages caution, not quitting. The league, with a location in North Reading, has a “When in doubt, sit them out” policy and promotes flag football.
“We don’t want people to demonize sports,” Sanders said, “but we don’t want injuries to be normal or accepted.”
After absorbing the latest round of evidence linking playing football to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson was pleased in a way, even if the news wasn’t particularly good. Why? The more information for the players, the better, he said.
With added knowledge on the subject, Johnson, who suffered multiple concussions during 10 seasons in the NFL, has already seen changes in football from some players retiring early to others changing how they play the game. He believes the latest findings from a new Boston University Medical School study, a post-mortem test for CTE that came up positive for 110 of the 111 brains donated from NFL players, will lead to educated decisions being made now and in the future.
“Look, when I retired from the game in 2005, I never heard of post-concussion syndrome, traumatic brain injury, CTE. They weren’t educating me, or telling me what that was,” Johnson said yesterday. “Everyone said I knew what I was getting into. Well, I’d seen knees turned inside and out. I’d seen death and paralysis. I never heard of anyone having problems with their brains later in life because of football. Now that we all know, the cat’s out of the bag. Guys can make informed decisions. You’re seeing guys retire sooner than they maybe would have before because they have this information.”
Johnson also said he’s seen many linebackers today playing differently than he did. The three-time Super Bowl winner was a downhill-type linebacker who often led with his head to close gaps and make tackles. He didn’t know any better because he didn’t know or understand the risks.
“Now guys are playing eyes wide open, and I think that’s fantastic. I really do,” Johnson said. “A common phrase we used to use is, ‘ Stick your head in there. Put your head in there.’ I see a lot of guys that don’t play downhill anymore. They don’t want to stick their head in there because they’re more informed now, and they’re worried about what potentially could happen to them down the road. So you just see a shift in style in how linebackers play.”
Johnson noted that while the league is doing things to make the game safer, more can be done.
“A lot of people don’t want to talk about it because nobody wants Sundays in the fall to go away, and I get that,” he said. “But people need to make informed decisions, and that’s all. Just get the information. Educate and inform, and let the players decide whether or not they want to put themselves at risk or not.”
Former Pats running back Kevin Faulk also heard about the findings from the latest study. Naturally, it’s unnerving, especially for retired players who may have had concussions and now live with the uncertainty.
“It’s messed up, yes,” Faulk said, “but we chose to play the game. Am I worried? Of course, not just for me, but for everyone. I pray every day. I pray every night. I try to stay active and continue to do things. I pay attention to life in general. When you stop doing things, that’s when a lot of things happen to you.”