TAMPA, Fla. — When the question was posed — ever worry that the sport you love could ruin your brain? — Hines Ward shrugged it off as though it was nothing more than one of those pesky cornerbacks trying to keep him from catching a pass.
“It’s just a violent game,” Pittsburgh’s star receiver said Tuesday. “If you run into someone full speed with a head-to-head hit, something’s bound to give. Unfortunately, it’s your brain.”
Not long after Ward spoke, eight people gathered in a downtown hotel to discuss the latest evidence that football’s violent nature could be causing serious health issues.
Researchers at Boston University released enlarged photos of the brain scan taken after the death of former Buccaneers player Tom McHale, the victim, at age 45, of an accidental drug overdose. There were dense, brown patches where healthy cells would have been, a discovery Dr. Ann McKee, a neuropathologist who specializes in degenerative brain diseases, described as “extraordinarily abnormal.”
While drugs took McHale’s life, his widow, Lisa McHale, suspects that his frustrating inability to cope with his addictions may be traced to those disturbing images of the brain, a condition known as “chronic traumatic encephalopathy.” It can lead to memory loss, emotional problems, erratic behavior, depression and a loss of impulse control.
Former University of Colorado and Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson, who claims repeated concussions left his brain permanently damaged, has become the face of the issue. Now, he wants to get the word out to others: Recognize the warning signs, take the proper steps to prevent serious damage, worry about something more than just the next game, the next hit.
“I kind of liken it to NASCAR racers, who don’t like going to funerals or don’t like going to the hospital because they don’t like being reminded what could happen to them,” Johnson said. “It’s the same thing with football players.”
The NFL has launched its own study on the long-term effects of repeated concussions, with its results expected in 2010.
“I’m not going to think about it right now,” said Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who has suffered at least three concussions. “I’m going to live this day to the fullest.”
