Indians 6, White Sox 3: The Bases Loaded Hex, Jackie, and General Cramping
May 3, 2012AFC North: Terrell Suggs might have a torn achilles tendon
May 3, 2012One of the big concerns I had yesterday as football fans everywhere mourned the death of Junior Seau was that it was immediately going to fuel the concussion storyline that has been building. The concussion storyline is an important one that has been on the back burner or ignored for too long. Players have been acting like gladiators, needlessly risking their health for the adulation of fans and profit of owners and coaches. It is a systemic problem in which every NFL stakeholder is involved. Coaches have historically preached toughness and playing through pain. Players have looked down on their peers for not doing so. NFL fans (probably this one included) have mocked players like Jay Cutler or LaDainian Tomlinson most recently, for not playing in big games due to injury. As someone who cares about the issue, the immediate speculation and conclusions being drawn around Junior Seau’s death were a concern to me. I know I can’t control the storyline, but I just didn’t think it would help anyone if this issue had a sudden face and potentially a self-created martyr.
What’s so bad about having a martyr if it leads to overwhelming good for everyone via awareness? This is where it gets tricky. As of yesterday, nobody really knew why Junior Seau committed suicide. In fact, as the investigation was presumed to be a suicide, even that wasn’t 100% conclusive. Yet all over the place, I saw people talking about how scary the concussion situation is and how fans might fear for the next generation of retired players because of Seau’s death. I just want to slow the entire thing down so we have a little bit of time to gain perspective not just on the concussion issue, but also suicide.
Another area where suicide has been a big topic recently is with the anti-bullying movement. Suicides are spouted off as statistics to describe the horrors of bullying. It seems to be perfectly logical, but it is just a little bit too convenient for me how they are so neatly and tragically tied together. On the one hand, I think most of us have been bullied in our lifetimes. It is horrible and nobody should have to endure it. At the same time, even in the cases of excessive bullying to rattle off suicide statistics is almost co-signing that suicide is a common and potentially even acceptable outcome to bullying. In a weird way it seemed like Junior Seau’s suicide was being justified as a logical, acceptable outcome to the horrors of post-concussion health issues even before we had an idea why Seau might have taken his own life.
I will never be one to use a blanket statement about suicide that it is cowardly. I know some people say that, but I don’t like to paint myself into a corner with many blanket statements. I would be lying if I said that sometimes suicide does seem logical and rational to me in certain situations. That being said, it concerns me to think that suicide might become the reflexively acceptable outcome to the resulting head injuries that go along with some former NFL players’ experiences in the league.
That was certainly the message from Dave Duerson, the 50-year-old former NFL safety who shot himself in the chest in February of 2011. Duerson left explicit instructions for his brain to be studied at Boston University School of Medecine. Even after the school confirmed that Duerson – at age 50 – had suffered neurodegenerative disease linked to concussions, it doesn’t necessarily justify Duerson’s suicide. I won’t pretend to know exactly what Duerson’s life was like on a daily basis. I won’t call him a coward for taking his own life. I also won’t call suicide the logical choice for people in his situation who are suffering. The air of that yesterday with Seau was troubling.
Seau’s apparent suicide is eerily similar to Duerson’s. I am not dense or stubborn enough to not notice the clear similarities. I just refuse to accept that this is a reasonable pattern. The key word here is “reasonable.” I refuse to think that even those who are suffering have such a limited range of options for how to handle their situation. And this is just in case Seau was aiming to do what Duerson did. We have no idea and may never know for sure.
That’s why speculation was so pre-mature and dangerous. To put suicide on the table as a reasonable solution for those who struggle with diseases or bullies or anything else for that matter, is a scary proposition. Not that it is exactly the same thing, but would the world be a better place if someone like Michael J. Fox took his own life as the quality dissipates a bit more each day? Even that isn’t a perfectly apt example, but like Michael J. Fox, I refuse to believe that the world is necessarily and conclusively better off with Junior Seau dead.
That seemed to be the conclusion of many with a concussion storyline agenda yesterday. To them it seemed that Seau was just another predictable event in a timeline that proves a point. It feels mostly like leftover hatred for owners and Roger Goodell from the lockout, but that’s another story for another day.
That’s why it is such a fine line to walk. That’s why I didn’t want to get into any of this too soon. We don’t know why Junior Seau apparently killed himself yesterday. We don’t know if it is related to concussions he most likely suffered as an NFL player. What we do know is that he was desperate enough to shoot himself in the chest. That’s enough to reflect on for now.
I know we live in a fast-paced world where we want to slot everything into its most comfortable place in the narrative, but sometimes we do it too quickly. We create the truth rather than allowing it to reveal itself. We deserve better. Junior Seau deserves better.
(Image Author JJ Hall)
23 Comments
Right you are, Craig. The concussion-suicide association is the path of least resistance for many in the media. It’s dropped right in their lap; no thinking or evidence is required.
As you said, there might very well be a link, but I don’t think some sports writer in San Diego has any idea. We need facts, not feelings.
We actually don’t even know if it’s a suicide for certain. Certainly agreed on the rest.
Craig, I think the appropriate narrative is that head injuries, particularly those that inflict greater relative damage to the frontal lobes, can predispose former players to make questionable executive decisions of all kinds, whether financial, relational, or mortal. In the absence of rigorous investigation, there is no causal link to implicate concussions in Seau’s death, but they are a plausible variable given the larger narrative. I’m personally glad they are part of the conversation because it is something we can no longer whitewash as a fan base.
how many suicides and early onset alzheimer’s football players should there be before we have dataset is that valid in your opinion?
“The findings show that memory-related diseases appear to be significantly more common among NFL players, including a 19-fold higher rate among men ages 30 through 49.”
that’s from 2005 craig. nineteen fold. NINETEEN. and this is a study commissioned by the nfl. and it’s only one of many.
the wait and see attitude is utter nonsense.
as is the current rule where head shots are ok provided the running back as the ball. as long as this is a legal, then the nfl cannot say they’re serious about the issue.
and for those of you taking the ‘that’s football’ argument; pretty selfish.
like x100
R.I.P. 55!
whether it’s an immediate death -> suicide -> football head trauma link, or a premature proclamation of an inevitable QB controversy here at WFNY, yeah, go ahead and try to enforce that wait-for-more-info analysis in the internet age.
In this particular case, I don’t mind if there is some mistaken linkage in the public’s mind after the years of damage done. We already now know some lives are literally at stake, and if athletes are being sacrificed for our entertainment the participants and their parents need to know ASAP.
Long-term brain injuries are indeed a big problem with football and the current soapbox for MSM.
However, please do not discount the effects of PEDs, pain-killer addictions, the environment of maskings injuries symptoms to get back on the field (which increases the long-term effects), etc.
Not to mention the strains of building insane amounts of muscle mass (even w/o PEDs) and overall body weight on the human heart (which does not grow obviously).
I don’t think I said anything disputing any of this.
one of the biggest differences between Seau and Duerson was that Duerson and his family were aware of issues and side affects of what he perceived to be caused from brain injury and he also requested his brain be donated for research, etc. as of now, no family members, friends, or note from Seau recommended the same.
while it could be very likely that all the hits/concussions he made over 20 years of playing could’ve led to depression, but it seems like it’s one of several different scenarios that may have been going on in his head. we’ll see if his family does in fact donate his brain to research, hopefully they do. but until the research is conducted, or one of his friends/family shares more info, it will be pure speculation and his death could be a mystery that will never be solved.
while there are varying ways someone gets to the point where they are suicidal (concussions leading to depression, other forms of depression, etc), it seems that creating awareness of how dangerous of a disease depression is should be the topic that gets the most attention, and how to seek treatment for suicidal tendencies. i think Marcellus Wiley’s work on radio and tv yesterday was great in addressing that asking Junior for forgiveness of not being there for him or providing support in getting help, etc.
I don’t believe I advocated whitewashing anything at all.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure exactly what point you were trying to make. What I took from your article is an expressed preference to leave out the head injury narrative from the reporting in the absence of further investigation. That is a form of white washing since head injuries are a very plausible contributing factor and should, in my opinion, be included in the coverage of this tragic case (and similar ones past, present, and future). I don’t think you believe that, but it’s what came across in your editorial.
Thank you for posting that. The ammount of drug use, legal and otherwise asscoiated with pro football is amazing. Horse trainers cringe when they talk to their counterparts in the NFL
One thing that I think profootball has caused at the high school level is the unsupervised use of over the counter supplements. People blow a gasket when a kid is found to have a dime of weed on him, yet the entire football team at nearly any high school is pumping 1-2 grams of protein per pound of body weight(bodybuilder diet), and taking creatine, and washing it down with a 22 oz. ephedrine based drink. Most of these kids are bulking up but not doing nearly enough cardio to help strengthen their heart and lungs to pump blood to these muscles, which results in the same conditions that obesity causes.
Sorry I spent my first year teaching fighting with one of the football coaches I worked with over encouraging his players to take the stuff they took and work out how they worked out.
creatine was the new magic OTC supplement when I was in HS. when I read up on what it actually did, it scared me off. I am shocked that it is still around after the rash of wrestlers that died from complications while taking it (taking a PED that keeps water in the muscle and dehydrates you while cutting weight is not a good mix)
That conclusion is very plausible, and has probably crossed the mind of nearly everyone who keeps up with the NFL’s concussion problem, but it is unfair to Seau and his family for the media to make this conclusion prior to further investigation and a conclusion by whomever’s job it is to conclude such things (detective, coroner, etc). It is not the media’s job, nor their place at this point.
I’ll try not to tread into speculation as to whether football related issues played a role in Seaus death. I do have a disagreement with Craig’s statement, and the theme that supports it throughout this piece.
” I refuse to think that even those who are suffering have such a limited range of options for how to handle their situation”
To me saying this is like telling someone with advanced pancreatic cancer that they should find more options then dying. I think too often we continue to cling to the long held assumption that there is a “conciousness” or mental state that is separate from the physiological entity that is the human brain. As if every single part of your body is subject to disease but the brain should simply be able to think its way out of its own problems. If a person has a brain that has been damaged, where neurons don’t fire consistently or they cause chemical imbalances for instance, then no amount of therapy or “range of options” will help the person.
To use the above example Michael J Fox has a brain that functions how we would say normally. If he chose to end his life it would be after having weighed options and considered carefully quality of life issues. For someone with a brain disorder, the very thing they need to use to make that decision isn’t working properly. There are treatment options but like anything else the side effects often can make things worse.
If I’m wrong on the message here all due apologies, but it seems to be a thought that a person sufferring from brain disorders should be expected to work their way through it, as if what they suffer from isn’t a disease as real and deadly as cancer.
I don’t think we’re trying to enforce anything, but I do think that the “wait for the facts before you spout assertions” frame of thinking couldn’t be more proper. The fact that the “Internet age” often opts for the alternative doesn’t make this any less ideal.
+1 porkchop.
As a graduate student studying clinical psych, I too Craig am cautious to draw any conclusions.
We as humans like answers and we like things to happen for a reason that makes sense. So when a iconic football player takes his own life, we immediately look for the easy answer – in this case head trauma.
But it’s not that simple. Depression and suicide are very very rarely ’caused’ by one simple thing. Depression occurs in an individual because of a combination of reasons: genetic predisposition, environmental factors, relationships, neurotransmitter disregulation. Depression is not just biological (or medicine would cure it), nor is it usually just emotional.
I think the better reaction would be one where we make sure we are educated on why this happens and what we can do about it. It’s absolutely critical that we teach our children and our society, especially males, that feelings and vunurability is ok. It’s NOT weak to be depressed and it’s ok to ask for help.
Now in the case of Seau – to just focus in head trauma is foolish. Is that important to concentrate on and prevent? Yes, absolutely. But the mistake people are making is thinking that that has to be the reason, because why else would someone with that money and life want to do that?
But the fact is that depression is a disease that does not give a damn if you are rich or poor or play in the NFL or work in an office. So Seau could have had any number of things going on: gentec factors, problems regulating his emotions, relationship issues, neurotransmitter imbalances, and yes, maybe head trauma.
The most likely answer, and I hesitate to speculate, is that there was a COMBINATION of factors. Nothing ’causes’ depression and suicide. There is no easy answer as much as we want one. Thus, we must be more aware of ALL the factors that can lead to this and understand them, learn about them, talk about them, and not be afraid to speak about out feelings.
Come on, obviously wasn’t saying that Craig thinks he has enforcement power. Agree reasoned opinions based upon all facts are best, but it’s becoming increasingly less common. That WFNY writers find themselves sliding down that same slope, even this very week, was my point. The Monster needs new info this hour, story ideas this hour, analysis this hour. I’m sure you agree that tendency runs counter to to restraint.
With a little more experience you will change your mind. I’ve had my PhD in psych for a while and have practiced and done research in spinal cord/brain injury facilities. The brain is a sensitive organ and the cumilative effects of playing a high collision sport for so long (in many cases since elementary school) have a massive damaging effect upon the brain. Not only due to direct hits to the head, but the collision of bodies resulting in massive shocks as if a person were in a car accident causes the brain to twist, turn, and bounce back and forth inside the skull -a structure that is not smooth, but with many ridges and sharp point that result in abrasions and bleeding. That is what is lost in the current concussion discussion which only focuses on the “big” illegal shots to the head. Do more research into head injuries and what you will find will scare you. I love following the Browns, but I wonder if at some point I will feel about football the way I felt about boxing after I watched Boom Boom Mancini and Duk Koo Kim -I loved the sport, but couldn’t watch another fight after that tragedy.
All I am saying is that it’s premature at best to say that Seau’s suicide was because of head trauma. If you actually read my post closely you would see that my point is that while head trauma may play a role there are other factos that due to. Next time take the time to read the post.
ritz…right away you have an attitude problem. my advice is too learn from someone who is a little smarter than you.