It's been a rough few days in the @Been Jammin household. Many of you may be aware of this story already.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...-2-sons-dead-murder-suicide-article-1.2595922
The younger son was a classmate and friend of my daughter. But, that is not why I am bringing up this topic.
Obviously, we don't yet know if the older brother had CTE. Even if he did, we won't be able to definitively say that the CTE caused him to do what he did. But, a lot of people who knew the mother, are saying that she had been attempting to deal with his behavioral issues for many months and that he had been receiving therapy, so it is not as if his actions are/were a complete surprise.
What I am wondering is how long it will be until we are convinced that CTE is real and that CTE is causing ex-athletes to become violent, psychotic, suicidal, etc? Will it eventually result in parents not allowing their talented kids to participate in contact sports, or in significant changes to said sports (i.e NFL being something completely different than what it is today).
My son is 14 and is by no means an athlete, but if he were, I would have significant reservations about allowing him to play football. Enough that I would seriously consider telling him that he had to give up the sport and would encourage him to focus on other sports where the chances of concussion are significantly less.
Maybe the link above is not the best example, as this kid's first concussion was sustained playing basketball, a sport where I think the incidence of concussion is very low. His second concussion occurred during an altercation with another student.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...-2-sons-dead-murder-suicide-article-1.2595922
The younger son was a classmate and friend of my daughter. But, that is not why I am bringing up this topic.
Obviously, we don't yet know if the older brother had CTE. Even if he did, we won't be able to definitively say that the CTE caused him to do what he did. But, a lot of people who knew the mother, are saying that she had been attempting to deal with his behavioral issues for many months and that he had been receiving therapy, so it is not as if his actions are/were a complete surprise.
What I am wondering is how long it will be until we are convinced that CTE is real and that CTE is causing ex-athletes to become violent, psychotic, suicidal, etc? Will it eventually result in parents not allowing their talented kids to participate in contact sports, or in significant changes to said sports (i.e NFL being something completely different than what it is today).
My son is 14 and is by no means an athlete, but if he were, I would have significant reservations about allowing him to play football. Enough that I would seriously consider telling him that he had to give up the sport and would encourage him to focus on other sports where the chances of concussion are significantly less.
Maybe the link above is not the best example, as this kid's first concussion was sustained playing basketball, a sport where I think the incidence of concussion is very low. His second concussion occurred during an altercation with another student.
