Terry Bradshaw, the four-time Super Bowl-winning former Steelers quarterback, has expanded on his revelation that he’s having problems that he attributes to brain damage suffered on the field, writing a column in which he says the NFL needs to do more to protect players from concussions.
“I know the NFL has done a lot to help us and also to improve the conditions for today’s players in regards to helmets and head injuries,” Bradshaw writes at FOXSports.com. “But it’s nowhere [near] where it needs to be.”
The 62-year-old Bradshaw says he has serious problems with his short-term memory and his hand-eye coordination, and he believes that’s a result of brain injuries he suffered in the NFL. He says he has no idea how many times he suffered brain injuries on the field, but he knows it’s a lot.
“When I played for the Steelers and I got my bell rung, I’d take smelling salts and go right back out there,” Bradshaw writes. “All of us did that. We didn’t know any better. You don’t know how many times I was in the huddle, asking my teammates to help me call a play. After a few minutes, I’d be fine and I’d keep playing just like nothing had happened.”
Now Bradshaw says he’s speaking out because he thinks more needs to be done for players like his longtime center Mike Webster, who suffered terribly in the final years of his life from health problems related to brain damage suffered on the field.
“I thought it would be good for a lot of players for this to get out,” Bradshaw wrote, “for me to tell my story.”