The Chronic Secret
When comparing the job of a coal miner to someone who plays professional football they share more similarities than one would think. Chronic injuries and an early life expectancy are some of the implications that don 't make it to the contract. Coal miners lives are cut short from precautions of the job, like the constant inhalation of coal dust usually resulting in respiratory problems later on in life. Football players have a mirroring situation except their disease is one that attacks their brain. CTE or Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a disease of the brain which causes the build up of the protein tau to form around the blood vessels in your brain. This build up eventually will start causing your nerve cells to …show more content…
Rage, aggression, depression are just some of the first stage symptoms that begin to develop, after this comes memory loss and confusion, finally an advanced dementia will come over the patient, causing a complete loss of self for the person being affected (Breslow). CTE is caused by repeated brain trauma and the population we find this disease most frequently appear in, is the National Football League community. NFL players have an average life expectancy of fifty five years of age, compared to the seventy seven years of the average U.S male (Kirth). These men are risking their lives for the money and fame that comes with America 's favorite blood sport. It is not until close to death until NFL players realize their love for a sport may literally kill them before they are ready to go because no one made the risks of the game apparent. Should the NFL do more to protect …show more content…
If this player is injured though or hurt during the season the money that was first granted to him could be significantly less than what he receives. This is a problem because players spend most of the money when their peaking in their career in their early twenties but a study done by Sports Illustrated say 78 percent of players will file bankruptcy within two years of their careers endings (Chadiha). This is a serious liability for the NFL because health implications resulting from the game don 't begin to appear for years after retirement, and while a 401 K pension cannot be cashed in for a retired player until he reaches 60, he very well could be dealing with mental implications at fifty even forty. Mike Webster a famous case of football gone bad, playing in the National Football League for seventeen years and once finally reaching retirement he was sleeping in cars and living like a homeless person. This was not only account of his medical bills he dealt with after playing in the NFL but the fact CTE was affecting and destroying his sanity. After his brain was revealed to have a CTE a class action lawsuit against the NFL was approved y a United States District Court. Which means, baseline medical exams for retired players, monetary award for diagnoses of ALS, Alzheimers, Parkinson 's, Dementia and certain cases of CTE
When comparing the job of a coal miner to someone who plays professional football they share more similarities than one would think. Chronic injuries and an early life expectancy are some of the implications that don 't make it to the contract. Coal miners lives are cut short from precautions of the job, like the constant inhalation of coal dust usually resulting in respiratory problems later on in life. Football players have a mirroring situation except their disease is one that attacks their brain. CTE or Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a disease of the brain which causes the build up of the protein tau to form around the blood vessels in your brain. This build up eventually will start causing your nerve cells to …show more content…
Rage, aggression, depression are just some of the first stage symptoms that begin to develop, after this comes memory loss and confusion, finally an advanced dementia will come over the patient, causing a complete loss of self for the person being affected (Breslow). CTE is caused by repeated brain trauma and the population we find this disease most frequently appear in, is the National Football League community. NFL players have an average life expectancy of fifty five years of age, compared to the seventy seven years of the average U.S male (Kirth). These men are risking their lives for the money and fame that comes with America 's favorite blood sport. It is not until close to death until NFL players realize their love for a sport may literally kill them before they are ready to go because no one made the risks of the game apparent. Should the NFL do more to protect …show more content…
If this player is injured though or hurt during the season the money that was first granted to him could be significantly less than what he receives. This is a problem because players spend most of the money when their peaking in their career in their early twenties but a study done by Sports Illustrated say 78 percent of players will file bankruptcy within two years of their careers endings (Chadiha). This is a serious liability for the NFL because health implications resulting from the game don 't begin to appear for years after retirement, and while a 401 K pension cannot be cashed in for a retired player until he reaches 60, he very well could be dealing with mental implications at fifty even forty. Mike Webster a famous case of football gone bad, playing in the National Football League for seventeen years and once finally reaching retirement he was sleeping in cars and living like a homeless person. This was not only account of his medical bills he dealt with after playing in the NFL but the fact CTE was affecting and destroying his sanity. After his brain was revealed to have a CTE a class action lawsuit against the NFL was approved y a United States District Court. Which means, baseline medical exams for retired players, monetary award for diagnoses of ALS, Alzheimers, Parkinson 's, Dementia and certain cases of CTE