What an unbelievably sad story

[NJmike PE]

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/men-action/201406/ex-nfl-tight-end-suffering-memory-loss-writes-heartwarming-song-family

After a football career that included five diagnosed concussions, former Colts and Bengals tight end Ben Utecht began experiencing memory loss at age 30.

A father of three daughters, Utecht has testified on Capitol Hill that one of his girls told the family doctor that she sometimes becomes afraid of her father during his dark spells at home.

He wrote a pretty moving song to his family. Really sad. This is the one thing that I really dislike about American football. I know that everyone wants to see these guys try rip each others heads off, but no seems to care about the after effects. The physical toll that it takes on the body and mind. And the same goes for our servicemen and vets. Similarly, they do not get the correct treatments that they deserve. Just sad all together.

 

[Master slacker]

My solution of football injuries - no pads.

Physical sports have their downfalls. But each competitor knows the risks associated with playing any sport. Sucks for them and their families after the fact.

 

[NJmike PE]

MS, I agree. They absolutely are told of the risk. However, I believe in most cases they become very money hungry and do not think long term.

EDIT: To me this is sad because now this guy is a former athlete and current spouse/parent and he's dealing with some real-life issues as a result. Something that I can relate to regarding family.

 

[Exception Collection]

MS, I agree. They absolutely are told of the risk. However, I believe in most cases they become very money hungry and do not think long term.

EDIT: To me this is sad because now this guy is a former athlete and current spouse/parent and he's dealing with some real-life issues as a result. Something that I can relate to regarding family.

Actually, most retired players were not told of this risk - or rather they were told by the NFL that there were no long term consequences. It wasn't until late 2009 that they adopted the current rules; before that, a 2003 study stated that "there were no long-term negative health consequences associated with concussions sustained by NFL players.".

It's very sad what has happened with NFL players. Equally sad for the most part is what happens to professional wrestlers. Saddest of all is what happened with Chris Benoit from the WWE.