Comments on: Dave Duerson had brain damage

By: thefiesty1

thefiesty1 — Mon, 02 May 2011 20:52:14 +0000

So does Mohammed Ali. You keep getting hit in the head over and over, it should be expected.

By: tdhawk

tdhawk — Mon, 02 May 2011 20:02:47 +0000

You can play football without leading with your head. Improved helmets would be helpful but tackling with your shoulder pads and better technique would be best. Athletes are too big, fast and strong nowadays to prevent scrambling of the brain if players insist risking their lives leading with their skull.

By: justinmypants

justinmypants — Mon, 02 May 2011 19:23:11 +0000

Does anybody know if the above picture was taken before or after the brain damage kicked in?

By: zibikbeer

zibikbeer — Mon, 02 May 2011 19:03:09 +0000

spartyfi says:
May 2, 2011 12:44 PM

Why is all the blame on the NFL??? What about the NCAA and HS’s??? Don’t they play the same game where you continually get hit in the head?

______________________________

I completely agree with you. As a former football player, I knew all of the risks associated with the sport. All players know the risk of the sport they play, so nobody should put the blame on the NFL. Last year a kid got paralysed during a game of HS football. As sad as it is, like I said we all as players know the risks involved, and so did Dave.

RIP Dave.

By: wtf__seriously

wtf__seriously — Mon, 02 May 2011 18:56:12 +0000

Hobartbaker, you have once again proved yourself to be a tool.
Please find another hobby than making distasteful, humorless posts on PFT.
Thanks, from all of us here at PFT!

By: murraysons

murraysons — Mon, 02 May 2011 18:55:40 +0000

Can someone ban Hobart Baker?

By: oruacat2

oruacat2 — Mon, 02 May 2011 18:42:24 +0000

Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t part of the problem the fact that the brain essentially rattles-around INSIDE the skull when these hits take place? How would a helmet prevent that?

Sad story. RIP, Duerson.

By: shagsny

shagsny — Mon, 02 May 2011 18:41:08 +0000

Football should address the rules of tackle to help with this problem. Coming from a rugby background, tacklers are required to hold/wrap up the ball carrier as they bring them to ground. From what I have seen (opinion), some serious head injuries in football come from players lunging at other players (ie head to head). Also in rugby, any contact above the shoulders is considered dangerous and quickly penalized.

The people in Boston are doing good work… keep it up.

By: imongo

imongo — Mon, 02 May 2011 18:31:43 +0000

DD was a wonderful human being…such a sad end. But, he did have a choice whether to play or not.

By: randolph32

randolph32 — Mon, 02 May 2011 18:29:29 +0000

@Hobartbaker – If you’re from Hobart, IN then I understand your jealousy concerning Chicago.

And Hoosier your daddy?

By: schemefactory

schemefactory — Mon, 02 May 2011 18:14:05 +0000

sure glad the owners don’t have to play! jeez, where would the league be if THEY had to put something other than money on the line?…

By: capslockkey

capslockkey — Mon, 02 May 2011 17:46:52 +0000

Very tragic indeed. Maybe if defensive players actually tackled correctly rather than leading with their head to use it as a battering ram just so they can get the big hit for sportscenter highlights or “bringing the pain” you’d see less of this. The helmets aren’t the problem, it’s these guys style of play. Hard to feel sorry for someone like James Harrison if he ends up with brain damage by the time he’s 40.

By: ivedoneyourwife

ivedoneyourwife — Mon, 02 May 2011 17:42:26 +0000

As Vic Ketchman told us, take off the facemask. Players are too vain to lead with their head and risk damage to their face.

By: touchdownroddywhite

touchdownroddywhite — Mon, 02 May 2011 17:40:48 +0000

No suicide not jokes allowed? What a pity. I thought my comment was insightful!

By: nickerus

nickerus — Mon, 02 May 2011 17:37:35 +0000

That’s not good at all

By: gregjennings85

gregjennings85 — Mon, 02 May 2011 17:26:22 +0000

Hobarker:

Are you about done? We’re talking about a man here, who left behind four kids, and countless loved ones…a human being that was both a good man on the field and off it.

He gave his life to pro football, and in turn, developed brain damage because of it. The least you could do would be to not gloss over his pain in an effort to get some laughs.

There is a time and a place for humor, and this clearly wasn’t it.

R.I.P., Dave Duerson.

By: goawayeverybody

goawayeverybody — Mon, 02 May 2011 17:26:02 +0000

I liked Dave Duerson. He was a decent man. It’s a crying shame that in the US we have the advanced technology to do many things, but somehow we do not have the ability to create helmets that can cushion the NFL players better.

By: JSpicoli

JSpicoli — Mon, 02 May 2011 17:21:48 +0000

There is no magic “helmet that will prevent these head traumas.”

Touch football will prevent these head traumas.
Maybe it is time to end the sport, God knows they are trying to accomplish that on their own these days.

They used to joust too you know. Maybe football needs to be relegated to the Shakespeare festival.

I’m going off the deep end to make a point, there is no fix, do the best we can and MOVE ON, or just cancel the sport, because I don’t want to watch some watered down verison of the sport I grew up loving.

By: JSpicoli

JSpicoli — Mon, 02 May 2011 17:17:56 +0000

Did you ever think that maybe everyone has marks or damage to their brain in varying degrees and that, like arthritis, or any cumulative/degenerative condition, brain damage is part of life? To some degree.

Sure NFL’ers have more exposure and risk, but I know I’ve had a couple concussions over the years, but no one is going to look at my brain to see the scarring etc. Maybe we all have some degree of damage, and it is just called “life”.

These guys get paid a lot, and if you wan to stop the injuries, you have to end the game. Not going to happen, so why don’t we just do the best that we can do and move on.

By: nineroutsider

nineroutsider — Mon, 02 May 2011 16:58:04 +0000

This why NFL players earn every cent they are paid no matter what people think of how they use it. They deserve their money more than any other athlete playing any of the big 4 sports in America today. This doesn’t happen to NBA, MLB, and yes even NHL players. It doesn’t matter what their background is or what their alternatives would be without football…they deserve it nonetheless. They take the real risk in football.

Obviously Dave knew his brain was wasted and didn’t feel like living with it any longer. Sad…

Even more sickening, some of the comments on this board…you ought to feel ashamed that you can’t even muster up a little empathy for Dave and his family…how you must hate your own life so very much!

By: 52sackmachine

52sackmachine — Mon, 02 May 2011 16:51:40 +0000

Crack does kill brain cells!!

By: tombradyswig

tombradyswig — Mon, 02 May 2011 16:48:57 +0000

RIP Dave!
So sorry for his fam!

By: mongobo

mongobo — Mon, 02 May 2011 16:47:16 +0000

And yet there continues to be a push for 18 game seasons…

I’m not willing to call the owners evil in their pursuit of 18 game seasons, but they sure come across as thoughtless right now.

By: spartyfi

spartyfi — Mon, 02 May 2011 16:44:29 +0000

Why is all the blame on the NFL??? What about the NCAA and HS’s??? Don’t they play the same game where you continually get hit in the head???

By: steelerdynasty2010

steelerdynasty2010 — Mon, 02 May 2011 16:42:28 +0000

i dont want to seem as though i’m trying to minimize the effects of concussions or seem unsympathetic to the long term effects they have on people, but these guys sign up for this. i dont see how the nfl can “take greater steps to prevent players from suffering brain damage on the field” without doing a great detriment to the game. the game is not intended to be played by launching yourself at people, so get rid of the players that do it. it’s simple. everyone acts like it’s some right to play professional sports just because you’re good at it. you do however, have a right to apply for employment with the league. just as they have a right not to employ you, for whatever reasons they choose, so long as they are not discriminatory. if you cant play the game the way its supposed to be played, then you shouldnt be allowed in the NFL or any of the professional organizations, period.
suspensions and fines arent really working so kick them out of the league, and keep them out. these arbitrary fines and suspensions are just ridiculous and making the league look silly. if you’re going to be serious, then be serious. if you want to APPEAR concerned, then keep coming up with these window dressing knee jerk reactions.

By: aaa82

aaa82 — Mon, 02 May 2011 16:40:57 +0000

In other news, we should really add more games to the schedule.

- Roger

By: hobartbaker

hobartbaker — Mon, 02 May 2011 16:39:04 +0000

Researchers analyzed Duerson’s brain a month after his death. Using his baseline test scores as a guide they pronounced him fit to start next week.

By: grandpoopah

grandpoopah — Mon, 02 May 2011 16:38:25 +0000

That’s not possible, because only the owners take risks in the NFL. The players are all lazy, greedy malcontents. Haven’t you guys been paying attention to the comments on this board?

By: cletusvandam

cletusvandam — Mon, 02 May 2011 16:29:52 +0000

Im not sure how much the league can really do about this.
The players have to meet them in the middle. As long as players like Peyton Manning “joke” about cheating on concussion exams and find ways to get around the system nothing will change.

By: seanmmartin

seanmmartin — Mon, 02 May 2011 16:29:47 +0000

This is real tough for the game, but even tougher for his family.

God bless.