Fallout

It's been a busy week since the tragic suicide of former Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson. Reactions to his untimely death have sent shock waves throughout the NFL. Former teammates, coaches, media pundits, and even the Commissioner himself Roger Goodell, have all expressing reactions of shock and sadness on Duerson's passing.

The Chicago Tribune had a fabulous piece on Duerson's final days which you can read here. Other random things about Duerson have come up too this week, such as the accusation Duerson made himself three months ago, that former defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan used the N-word to Dave during his rookie season. While it's well documented that Duerson and Buddy strongly disliked each other, which lasted during and after Super Bowl XX mind you, I find it highly dubious that Ryan used that term with Dave. Duerson had over 25 years to tell that story, and he never did until 3 months ago. If something like that did happen, Dave picked a rather odd time to share it. Then again, there may be another more pertinent reason why Dave chose to share that story now.

That reason is, Dave's mind might have been damaged enough by Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, that the early symptoms of dementia which arise from CTE may have convinced Dave that Ryan used the N-word in front of him, even though Ryan probably didn't say it. According to the Tribune article, Duerson was more than aware of what CTE is, and how his brain (specifically mentioning the left side of it) may have developed it. The article also gives light to how Duerson suddenly had difficulty doing the most mundane of things, and his mind slowly began to betray Duerson, as his life swiftly fell apart around him.  

I've already covered my feelings about CTE and Duerson last posting, but I couldn't help but revisit those feelings often during the week and this past weekend. As I watched the NFL Combine, I couldn't help but get a feeling that I was watching something reckless and nefarious. I couldn't help but wonder if this would be one of the last times I would see kids from middle class backgrounds playing football again? I know it's going to take years-if not a decade or two-from that ever happening, but I just couldn't help but let my mind imagine what road we're heading down?

I love the game of football. I love the violence on the field that's associated with it and judging by the television ratings I'm far from alone. The players generally know the risks they're taking when they step on the field. They know there's a chance they could end up paralyzed, or severely injured every time they step go out and play, and they accept it as part of the game. That aspect of football has always been there.

This is a different and new risk for them to consider however. Players are used to taking risks for what could happen to them ON the field. It seems to me that they didn't sign up to play football with the understanding that ten to twenty years after they finish playing, their minds will be turned into mush via CTE. That is a completely different animal for guys to have to consider, and more importantly, it's a risk that PARENTS will now have to consider the moment their son comes home from school with a permission slip asking them to play football.

So while people like Cam Newton, and Julio Jones make headlines about their 40 times, and while DeMaurice Smith makes headlines at the negotiating table, I'm hoping that all of them have a little bit of increased foresight with them. It is my hope that they understand that the decisions they make now, could also have their brains as well as others, being studied in a lab at Boston University someday.

Sad...

I was planning on celebrating what an enormous season the Chicago Bulls have had thus far now that we've reached the All-Star Break. I anticipated finally having the opportunity to point out what a remarkable improvement Derrick Rose has made in his game, and how the Bulls offseason acquisitions plus head coaching decision, have paved the way for what is sure to be an Eastern Conference Finals Appearance, bare minimum. Friday morning however, I was violently reminded that there may be more important things to pontificate on this week, courtesy of the late Dave Duerson.

Dave Duerson, for those who haven't heard, randomly decided to end his life. "Double D's" death has been deemed a suicide and Duerson (ever the pragmatist) decided to shoot himself in the chest rather than the head in order to aid in the study he requested be done on his brain to determine if he suffered damage from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

There's more than a few different directions to go with this for me. The most obvious being a reference to Duerson beating the crap out of his then-wife in a South Bend hotel room 5-6 years ago. Once that incident took place, like many, my perception of Dave Duerson changed dramatically. Duerson went from being seen as a player and a man who combined affability with integrity, to one of despair and isolation. Judging from those that knew him, Duerson seemed acutely aware that people would forever remember him as the former NFL player that beat his wife, rather than the charitable, philanthropic individual that succeeded both on and off the field.

Look, I can't in good conscience pretend I knew Dave Duerson. I can't sit here and pretend I knew his family, his wife, or his children. I can't pretend I knew his teammates, his coaches or his friends. I can tell you that I did meet him once at Brandt's in Palatine, IL and he was as nice as I could have ever hoped he would be. I can tell you he was a very good player as evidenced by his four Pro-Bowl appearances, Two Super Bowl Rings, and his long standing record for most sacks in a season by a defensive back (7). Unfortunately for us there might be a huge difference between the man he was, and the man who died.

The reason I say that is because the man who died may be an individual who had severe brain damage brought on by Post Concussion Syndrome. According to the reports, Duerson himself may have suspected he was subject to brain damage since reportedly before he died, sent text messages to his family requesting that his brain be studied by Chris Nowinski. Chris Nowinski as you may remember has been written about before on this blog, as well as received national attention as being one of the forerunners on CTE research. Nowinski's group through exhaustive research, has brought tremendous awareness on just how dangerous Football is for the human brain.

It would not surprise me in the least if Chris found that Duerson's brain has also received tremendous damage due to Post Concussion Syndrome.

The results will be discovered in time. For now, we are left to speculate. Was Dave Duerson yet another casualty of CTE, or was he just another guy with financial problems who lost all his money and thusly decided life wasn't worth living? For me, I'm guessing it's the former but I'll let Chris Nowinski decide for sure.

Either way, it's another shocking reminder of just how bad things can get for former NFL players and how rapidly "bad" can come. As morbid as this may sound, I'm actually (ahem) hopeful Duerson's brain had suffered damage, in the hope that we can truly understand just how dangerous football is while concurrently providing Duerson some salvation.

*as a side note, I wrote this while watching MLB Network replaying the 2002 Home Run Contest. It was just another shocking reminder of what a fraud the Steroid Era was as I'm watching Jason Giambi, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Richie Sexson, Alex Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra, and a severely out-gunned Paul Konerko do battle. Listening to Chris Berman and Joe Morgan sycophantically kiss the collective ass of all these players who had needles in their asses as their standing in the batters box goes to show how A. The Steroid Era was such a joke, and B. Just how much ESPN should be avoided.