Praise as Toon star highlights dementia
STRIKER EXPLORES LINK BETWEEN GAME AND BRAIN DISEASE
Reporter READERS have praised Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer for speaking openly about his fears that he may be at risk of suffering from dementia.
The former England captain investigates the potentially devastating link between football and the disease in a one-hour BBC documentary.
Shearer fears he may be at risk of suffering from dementia due to heading footballs more than a 100 times a day during his career.
His worries come 15 years after the death of England striker Jeff Astle, whose inquest ruled he developed dementia as a direct result of heading footballs.
In the documentary, the Match of the Day pundit undergoes tests to examine how heading the ball has affected his brain.
Shearer, 47, also claims the FA and PFA have neglected their duty of care for former footballers, including 1966 World Cup winner Nobby Stiles, who has Alzheimer’s and lives in a care home. Readers took to The Chronicle Facebook page to praise Shearer for speaking out about his concerns over his longterm health. Tracy Carr said: “My father played football for the Army, had regular head injuries, got front lobe dementia in his 50s and died aged 58 in a slow undignified death. “It had a massive impact on my life, a dreadful condition for the people who love and care for them. More research desperately needed.” Ian Brown commented: “Lots of different forms of dementia, it can happen to anyone. It’s a horrible illness for the person and the family. “If Shearer wants to help bring awareness to this I say well done.” And Jim Horner wrote: “I have openly criticised Mr Shearer many times, as I hated it at games where everyone seemed to forget it took a whole team to win a game and not just one man. “But I take my hat off Alan Shearer t o him this time, this is a fantastic thing he is doing and hope it helps others in the future. Well done Mr Shearer.”
Shearer, who netted 30 goals in 63 appearances for England, told the Daily Mirror the tests to examine his brain were “pretty nerve-wracking”.
He said: “I have got a terrible memory. I don’t know if that is because I don’t listen, but I have got a poor memory.
“When you play football as a professional you expect in later life you are going to have problems with your knees, your ankles, or you back, like I have.
“But never did I think playing football could be linked to having a brain disease. That is why the research has to be done.”
The documentary, titled Dementia, Football and Me, will air on BBC One at 10.30pm on Sunday. Shearer in his Newcastle United playing days