Speaking to the media at his annual fundraising golf tournament for his college alma mater, Louisiana Tech, Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw said that he is experiencing symptoms of a career’s worth of concussions.
Tim Fletcher of KTBS reports that Bradshaw said he recently spent a weekend at the Amen Clinic in Newport Beach, California after experiencing short-term memory loss and a deterioration of hand-eye coordination. It was determined that head injuries caused the problems.
“I forgot the numbers,” Bradshaw said regarding the concussions he suffered, which per Fletcher has prompted Bradshaw to avoid discussing statistics or lesser-known players when on the air for FOX. “It’s pretty staggering; if you play in the NFL and start for 10 years, it’s not good. It is not good.”
He later said he suffered six concussions and numerous occasions on which a blow to the head required him to “clear the cobwebs.”
“The NFL has done a lot to help us, but it’s nowhere where it needs to be,” said Bradshaw. “And not only that, the athletes themselves . . . we just accept it as part of the curriculum. But we have to say, they have to say, we need some help. . . . The bigger the voice, then the more that I think the NFL will address it. I’m not one to believe that they’ve got all they want out of you and you’re finished. I don’t think they’re like that at all.”
As players of the ’70s go, the voices don’t get much bigger than Terry Bradshaw. Here’s hoping that he embraces his new role in the hopes of helping other former players get the help they need.