What Former NFL Players Have To Say

Many former NFL players who have been diagnosed with concussions and CTE and have had to deal with the physical and mental effects that come along with it, have come out publicly to express their displeasure with the NFL and how they have handled the concussion issue in the league and their lack of proper treatment for the ones that are diagnosed with such conditions, along with the impact it has had on their lives after retirement. After watching Will Smith's movie "Concussion", Keith McCants said ”We were paid to give concussions. If we knew that we were killing people, I would have never put on the jersey.” This emphasizes the not only physical but emotional impact that concussions and CTE have had on these players. Pro Football Hall of Famers Tony Dorsett and Joe DeLamielleure, and former NFL All-Pro Leonard Marshall have also been diagnosed as having signs of CTE as they told ESPN's OTL. Tony Dorsett says he was experiencing symptoms such as memory loss, depression, and thoughts of suicide, all signs of CTE. When he traveled to Los Angeles to get tested, he constantly forgot why he was on the plane and where he was headed. He also describes periods when he'd drive his kids to their soccer and volleyball games and forget how to get there. "I've got to take them to places that I've been going to for many, many, many years, and then I don't know how to get there," he said. For him, the most painful of them all is that he can't control his outbursts towards his wife and kids. He says, "It's painful, man, for my daughters to say they're scared of me." After a long pause, he tearfully reiterated, "It's painful." Not only Dorsett, but DeLamielleure and Marshall also say that they have struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts. DeLamielleure goes as far to say that he never received a concussion diagnosis despite the constant blows to the head everyday at practice and in games. However, he believes that he received over 100 concussions over 13-year career. He also suffers from anxiety and chronic insomnia. The NFL, which declined to comment on this interview, has repeatedly asserted that there is not enough evidence to draw a conclusion that playing football causes CTE or other brain damage. After denying the severity of concussions for years, and disputing the research of doctors like Omalu and Bailes, the league reversed its position in 2009 and acknowledged a scientific connection between football and long-term brain damage -- but has not made a similar statement since.Dorsett, Marshall and DeLamielleure are among the 4,500-plus plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit filed against the NFL that is in the midst of being settled for $765 million. The plaintiffs argued that for years the NFL had concealed a link between playing football and brain damage. As part of the settlement reached in August, the NFL did not admit to wrongdoing.

http://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/9931754/former-nfl-stars-tony-dorsett-leonard-marshall-joe-delameilleure-show-indicators-cte-resulting-football-concussions