Antonio Brown’s behavior and what is needed
photo by leyla dumke
A few weeks ago, Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ star wide receiver, Antonio Brown, took off his jersey and helmet and ran off the field. Posts all over the internet started claiming that the only reason he would've done this was that he had CTE. CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, is brain degeneration caused by repeated head trauma. CTE sometimes causes erratic behavior including aggression, depression, and even suicidal thinking according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
The problem with these claims is that CTE can´t be diagnosed until after someone dies, so there's no way for this to be proven.
Antonio Brown´s recent behavior is just the icing on the cake. He was accused of sexual assault twice, he attacked a truck driver, refused to wear new team helmets, threatened to retire, used a fake vaccination card, and stormed off of the field in the middle of the game when his team had the ball. All of these events occurred after a blow to the head suffered in the 2016 AFC Wild Card game that knocked him unconscious. They might actually have a good outcome, however. The NFL has spent 85 million dollars on improving their equipment and researching injuries prior to his recent actions. With all the publicity surrounding his behavior, maybe they will contribute even more to the research and protection of their players.
In 2017, a study conducted at Boston University on NFL players showed that out of 111 deceased players, 110 of them had CTE. An additional 2016 study showed that out of 94 deceased players 90 were diagnosed with CTE. There isn't just a large number of CTE cases, however. An average of 247 concussions were reported each year from 2015 to 2020 with an average of 0.41 a game. Fortunately, this number is decreasing. As of 2020, concussions have decreased 3 years in a row. However, just one concussion can cause permanent damage to the brain structure, according to an NYU study. In total 205, retired, deceased NFL players’ brains have been tested with 200 of them shown to have CTE. All of this data shows that head injuries in the NFL are an urgent threat, and further research needs to be done.
Further research is just the start, as there is a lot of work to be done to ensure the safety of all players in the NFL.