The family of Corwin Brown, the former NFL player and assistant coach who has been hospitalized for a self-inflicted gunshot wound, has released a statement suggesting that brain damage suffered on the field led to Brown’s suicide attempt.
The Brown family said that it believes Corwin suffered the same kind of brain injuries as Dave Duerson, the former NFL player who committed suicide in February and whose autopsy revealed a neurodegenerative disease linked to concussions.
“Many are asking, what would cause a young man who has been blessed beyond all measure, with a life so promising that he would put himself and his family in harm’s way? We believe Corwin is suffering from symptoms similar to those experienced by the late Dave Duerson and were caused by the many notable collisions during Corwin’s career in the NFL,” the family’s statement says.
The family said it has reached out to Dr. Robert Cantu, a neurologist who has led a group of doctors studying the brains of deceased NFL players.
“We can no longer remain silent and we believe it is important that his former teams, teammates, coaches and the NFL to understand the severity of this situation,” the statement says.
The 41-year-old Brown played college football at Michigan and then played for the Patriots, Jets and Lions in the NFL. He has been an assistant coach for the Jets and Patriots, as well as at Virginia and Notre Dame.
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What are the similarities? That he played football? Plenty of non-football players attempt suicide every day. This snowball is going to get out of control…
I wonder if Plaxico would have done jail time if he said he got hit in the head too many times it made him feel like shooting himself in the leg.
People take their own lives everyday, and about 99.
9999999% are not football related.
yeah browns, i use the color brown to color houses, and bears come from here in north georgia too
And yet people still complain about the new rules…..
It sucks what happened to this guy but does the blame always have to go right to “it has to be the NFL’s fault”…*eyes roll*
People need to wait until the facts come in. This is a big issue that can effect anyone who has had concusions, sports related or not.
So much more we will learn.
Sounds to me like someone is setting up for a LAWSUIT, did they hire an attorney ? bet they did……….
This guy has been getting his noggin’ beat on from Pee Wee football through High School, College and then…. the NFL.
Why do people always just blame the NFL??
Players have the option of not playing football and being a “regular working Joe.” Where’s the self-accountability?
And now that he can’t support us we are going to sue the NFL for the damaged caused to his brain because he played a game that he enjoyed . Of course we never complained that he may gotten hurt while raking in the cash . This is a prelude to a lawsuit that’s all . The family could care less about making others aware. They care about how much they are going to receive from this lawsuit thats coming .
Sounds like a nice built in excuse for anybody that has issues beyond their playing years. Not saying concussions don’t affect, just saying that in some it’s just a case of a person not handling adversity, whether they played in the NFL or not!
LOL Nice article. Thanks.
“Many are asking, what would cause a young man who has been blessed beyond all measure, with a life so promising that he would put himself and his family in harm’s way?”
This question is asked by the family members of 99% of the people who kill themselves.
Suicide never makes sense.
Bottom line is that people have problems and some deal with them in self destructive ways. I used to drink a lot, Bill Belichik cheats, and some get suicidal. I hope he makes it out of this and I feel for his family, but I do not think football and success are the cause.
What about all the non-NFL players that brain themselves each year? Guess they’ll band together and claim that watching players bash heads each Sunday made them do it.
Let me understand. Is it blaming the suicide attempt on football that you all are doubting? Or is it that playing football at this level does harmful things to the brain that you doubt?
I get the reluctance to automatically blame the suicide attempt on the brain injury issues. Although I am sure there are far more qualfied people to talk about that relevance than anyone I see posting here. For some reason, the thought that brain trauma over a long term exposure might cause someone to behave irrationally (such as attempting suicide) does not seem that far fetched to me. But then again, there was a 2nd gunman on the grassy knoll.
I sense that fans don’t want to hear anything more about how damaging this game can be to play. Everyone feels the player does this at their own risk…right? They make millions…they’re paid for the risk. Get out there and play damn it.
Well, as we become more informed on the long term impact of brain trauma (concsussions) doesn’t it make sense to try to minimize or limit risks? Doesn’t it make sense to look into whether it increases the likelihood of Parkinsons, Alzeheimers, suicide, etc.
Ah hell, that is far too rationale thinking. It doesn’t affect me personally. Just play ball and the hell with the effects on players. Right?
I guess this is the new excuse for depressed football players… I understand some have been hit in the head & the story of Mike Webster is probably the saddest of all… BUT… These guys are also addicts of their own lives & when it’s over… a lot of them don’t know how to react. So yeah, some have had one too many hits to the head, but others I’m sure have other issues that go beyond the playing field, just as we all have things we have to learn to deal with, but some can’t.
pacificnw7722
You couldn’t have said it better.
It doesn’t say anything about suing the NFL. Maybe his family feels the need to spread the word about the effects of all the concussions. Another example of a life gone wrong might help change rules to make for a safer NFL.
I live next to an NFL assistant coach and he told me not to let my son play football until the 8th grade (with the hopes that he won’t want to play at all). He won’t even let his boys play. After his nfl playing days he realized he was lucky because he’s seen too many people that can’t live normal lives.
I’m not saying no one should play football, but making the long term effects of concussions and CTE a little more clear can’t hurt anything.
Such Garbage. Looks like the money ran out so Time to sue the NFL.
Wouldn’t help to have mandatory financial college classes to student athletes. not sure if this case is the problem, but seeing most “stats” on retired players and bankruptcy I’m sure has something to do with a lot of players struggles after football.
Why does everyone immediately point the finger at someone/something else when they do something bad or stupid. I’m not saying that he doesn’t have brain damage but own up for your mistakes PRIOR to blaming it someone else or coming up with excuses.
bunkmcnulty says: Aug 16, 2011 4:12 PM
Let me understand. Is it blaming the suicide attempt on football that you all are doubting? Or is it that playing football at this level does harmful things to the brain that you doubt?
I get the reluctance to automatically blame the suicide attempt on the brain injury issues. Although I am sure there are far more qualfied people to talk about that relevance than anyone I see posting here. For some reason, the thought that brain trauma over a long term exposure might cause someone to behave irrationally (such as attempting suicide) does not seem that far fetched to me. But then again, there was a 2nd gunman on the grassy knoll.
I sense that fans don’t want to hear anything more about how damaging this game can be to play. Everyone feels the player does this at their own risk…right? They make millions…they’re paid for the risk. Get out there and play damn it.
Well, as we become more informed on the long term impact of brain trauma (concsussions) doesn’t it make sense to try to minimize or limit risks? Doesn’t it make sense to look into whether it increases the likelihood of Parkinsons, Alzeheimers, suicide, etc.
Ah hell, that is far too rationale thinking. It doesn’t affect me personally. Just play ball and the hell with the effects on players. Right?
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This is a good post, but it seems to me like they are too eager to blame this on football. There are many compounding factors that would lead one to commit suicide, football does not have to be one of them. To me, this seems like a family that is in shock and devastated about what happened. Like many people in this situation, they want to place blame. I’m not saying it can’t be football related, but it seems to me they are going for the easy answer before all the facts are out. I agree that we have much left to learn, both about football related injuries and this specific case. For now, let’s try not to point fingers.
There are similarities, but Duerson was a better shot.
While is never safe to assume anything, my suspicion is however that the majority of the posters on here know nothing or little about the latest information on concussions and head trauma. Google the HBO Real Sports segment on Concussions. Inform yourselves.
Before I hear back, this is certainly only one producer’s perspective on things. They have done several pieces on this topic. I think it is a decent baseline of information on this issue.
hobartbaker –
absolutely classless!
I hope he gets help and gets better. Brain injuries are more complicated then the back I think.
Hobartbaker made me laugh and my little brother shot himself in the head. Seriously.
I think it’s a lot easier to blame the NFL for the suicide because otherwise, his family would have to face the possibility that they missed the signs of his depression.