NFL Player Brains to Teach Future Generation Effects of Hits, Learning Zone Blocking

We all knows the rigors of a lifetime of playing football exact a heavy toll on the body and mind of all those who strap on the pads. To what extent, no one really knows, though lumping it somewhere under the heading of “brutal” feels like an apt description.↵↵But those exacting people in the medical community can’t deal in such glib assumptions. No, they trade in empirical facts borne out of quantifiable research. When a player like Troy Aikman has problems post-career, they can’t just shrug and say, “Oh, well, he had a lot of concussions.” They need to know the specific effects of those concussions.↵

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↵↵And that means what they really need is players’ brains.↵

↵↵Lucky for them, three NFL players have stepped forward to offer their gray matter and spinal cord tissue to researchers once the players shuffle loose this mortal gridiron: (above, from left) Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk, Seattle Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu and Arizona Cardinals special teams captain Sean Morey.↵

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↵↵While dozens of former players have agreed to donate their brains, these three represent the first among active players to do so, which could potentially show how changes in equipment alter the the severity or the effect of the concussions suffered by comparing their brains to those of players from generations past. Also, because the players involved agree to be interviewed throughout the rest of their lives, researchers can get an idea of how brain trauma can affect behavior over time.↵

↵↵The Boston University center studying the effects of repeat concussions was started last year. The discovery of neurodegenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy in several athletes who have recently died has piqued interest in further study.↵

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