No player encompassed what football fans love about the game more than Tiaina Seau, Jr.
“Junior” was the face of the San Diego franchise for more than a decade, racking up a mountain of personal accolades and carrying an overmatched Charger team all the way to Super Bowl XXIX in 1994. After his suicide Wednesday although, Seau may be the face of something else.
His death immediately brought attention back to rampant debate on concussions in football and the safety of those who play the game.
Commissioner Roger Goodell has been condemned in recent years for turning the NFL into the “No Fun League.” Ravens safety Bernard Pollard will tell you that the ‘Commish has reduced the game to the level of flag football with his Draconian punishments for hits to the head. Jonathan Vilma and the rest of the players suspended in the wake of the New Orleans Saints’ bounty scandal surely have some choice words for Goodell as well.
The truth is, however, concussions have become a serious threat to the future of the NFL.
There’s a name for what happens after James Harrison decapitates a wide receiver over the middle. No, it’s not “hit stick” or “momentum changer,” it’s actually called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. This degenerative disease is caused by frequent concussions and results in, among other things, dementia, aggression and depression.
Doctors at the Boston University School of Medicine have found traces of CTE in the brains of 11 former NFL players since 2008. Seau just might be number 12. Less than 24 hours after his death, BU officially requested Seau’s brain for observation to see if he too fell victim to this degenerative disease.
In February of 2011 another former NFL player, Chicago Bear great Dave Duerson, committed suicide in a very similar fashion to Seau. In his last moments, Duerson sent a text to his wife and four children asking his brain be examined for the betterment of still-living NFLers.
Exactly one year to the day before Seau’s suicide, the same doctors who will be examining his brain found that Duerson had indeed suffered from CTE.
Concussions are not a problem that only affects football—certainly other sports involve the risk of blows to the head—but no other sport markets these hits to their viewers like the NFL. Videos with such colorful names as “Thunder and Destruction” and “Moment of Impact” have both received the NFL seal of approval and can be found on the Internet with ease.
The NFL is a ratings-driven league no doubt, and hard hits bring in the viewers more than any touchdown or kickoff return ever could, and this is exactly the reason why Goodell has become a villain to so many fans. He’s taking away what they love about the game—the violence.
When it comes down to it, what do we value more, football or the safety of those who play it? Perhaps a minority put player safety first, but for most of us it is football without question. When players’ lives are being cut severely short however, something has got to give.
As long as Roger Goodell is in charge of the NFL, we as fans can expect to see more and more fines and suspensions handed out to players like Harrison and Pollard for their headshots. But aren’t punishments better than no game at all?
We may not know right now what lead to his tragic suicide, but if it is found that Junior Seau indeed suffered from CTE, then this could be the watershed moment for concussions in sports. The moment that will change the NFL forever.
Do you put player safety first? How do you thing Seau’s death will change football? Let Matt know at mrmasterson@wisc.edu.
