Football Killed Tyler Sash
Noted excellent author and horrible pun enthusiast Adam Jacobi has a piece up over at BHGP discussing dead-at-27 former Iowa Safety Tyler Sash's recent diagnosis with CTE.
http://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2016/1/27/10837558/tyler-sash-iowa-c…
The diagnosis is, sadly, no surprise. Sash's fall after football was swift and pronounced, and his arrest in 2014 typified the erratic behavior of those suffering from the disease. Its advancement in his young age, however, is more of a surprise, if only because researchers said they had only seen one other similar case.
Sash's death isn't a problem specific to Iowa football, of course. The University of Iowa was Sash's home for just four of his 16 years of playing football, and as Marc Morehouse wrote in 2014, the University of Iowa has a substantial, multifaceted concussion protocol. There's no reason to think the school came up short in its medical treatment of Sash.
That shouldn't reassure you; it should terrify you. Tyler Sash's life and death as a football player aren't an aberration from protocol; they are part of the protocol. Football killed Tyler Sash.
I agree with Jacobi's premise that other sports have often struggled with the danger they impose - his NASCAR description is apt. As hockey discusses banning fighting, I think the answer is they must. Sorry to share a downer, but this is well done and quite the rejoiner to Harbaugh's "Football is worth it" piece from earlier this year.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:09 PM ^
Early frontrunner for the dumbest comment of the year.
January 27th, 2016 at 11:53 AM ^
I'm not sure that the premise that "CTE is part of the protocol" is true, but it definitely is a very real risk. My younger son is a natural linebacker, and loves football. The coach at his large urban school would love for him to play.
I'm glad every day that he instead plays soccer. Certainly not risk-free, but football's got to address the CTE issue squarely and in the daylight.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:01 PM ^
really see what they can do to address it. It is what it is and there is really not a whole lot more they can do to stop it and still remain "football" aside from continuing research on helmet technology to try to reduce the risk. Perhaps the best way they could address is to assure mental health and nuerological treatment for players and former players who develop if they don't already.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:04 PM ^
Look at rugby. I dont know the specifics, but I dont think they have the CTE issue. I got knocked out twice playing rugby in high school and club in college but I don't have CTE (that I know of).
January 27th, 2016 at 12:35 PM ^
CTE is an issue in football because of the amount of pounding players take over the years. Perfect example of this... Leroy Hoard:
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:8887023
It can have devastating consequences to your health.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:54 PM ^
I understand that. I'm saying maybe football should look to the sport of rugby to see what they are doing to avoid the CTE issue. Rugby players take a pounding too, but not so much to the dome. It does happen, but I NEVER purposefully tackled a guy with my head. I was taught from day one: get big, extend the arms, grip and fall back with the ball holder. It's the tackling technique that is a major issue in football.
January 27th, 2016 at 2:10 PM ^
funny you mentioned that. we think we are making football more and more safe, but in reality we make the players feel more industructible. thats how football survived so many years with leather helmets. if you feel like you are totally immune to injury you play more reckless.
rugby players and the old time football players didnt bang their heads together all the time because it hurt, and you didnt feel so protected that you didnt have to worry about it. there is always risk, you just have to decide if its worth it to you. just like all things in life.
January 27th, 2016 at 1:25 PM ^
Thanks so much for posting this. I was not aware of Leroy's struggles. I loved watching him play at UM but I am in awe of the grace and strength he is showing in the face of great adversity.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:07 PM ^
Agreed. I love the game, but I would never let my son play organized football. I doubt I'm the only parent who thinks this way. Less kids are playing high school football generally, and I can't imagine the game being the same in 25 years. Also, I'm not sure if having better equipmen will mitigate the CTE issues. Players are getting larger and faster, and better equipment only allows them to go full speed with reckless abandon.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:10 PM ^
It's a tough nut to crack, but I think some of it can be addressed with teaching proper tackling (ruggers and Aussie rules players aren't experiencing these events, at least nowhere near the same rate). And some of it can be addressed by limiting full tackle football until kids are some reasonable age (supported by neuroscience). Maybe it's 12, maybe it's 15, but whatever it is I'm unmoved by the "football is a choice" argument for two reasons. First, many parents push their kids into football, so it's not really a choice. Second, these are minors making decisions that could impact their future.
Even if age doesn't matter, I'd postpone the full tackle football for a few years for some simple reasons. One, the technique most kids get taught at elementary school leagues is atrocious, and the coaches are often ... bad at coaching. Second, to the extent CTE is cumulative, let's limit the aggregate number of hits a player takes. Who knows if Seau et al. would be better off in a world where tackle did not begin until 9th grade?
So it may be that the sport is irremediable. But I think the first step should be to take obvious safety measures to protect kids until they are more physically equipped to take the hits that come with tackle football.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:04 PM ^
As much as I love football, I really hope it starts to lose some popularity and our best athletes (6'2 and under) start migrating towards soccer. The more of these stories that come to light, the more internal conflict I have about my love for footballl.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:09 PM ^
This is where I'm at. I love watching football. It is by far the most entertaining sport IMO. With that said, I am starting to feel guilty about it as more and more evidence piles up, and I think that society will benefit as its importance decreases.
January 27th, 2016 at 1:13 PM ^
Can you imagine Calvin Johnson as a Keeper? Would be amazing.
January 27th, 2016 at 11:54 AM ^
College and NFL football have to continue with taking the helmet contact out of the game. Fans will boo targeting call against their team but league management and officials need to do what is best for the players, and the game, long term.
January 27th, 2016 at 11:56 AM ^
I thought a drug overdose killed him. Thank god for this article!
I think crap like this will eventually get people to see the craziness!!
January 27th, 2016 at 11:59 AM ^
Football started out as a college sport only, and it should go back to that tradition. The human body cannot stand the rigors of football for that long. The removal of a pro football career option should also reduce the amount of damage caused to kids in K-12, as their parents won't be pushing them so hard in order to get on the money train. Let them get their college degrees and move on with life.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:06 PM ^
January 27th, 2016 at 12:12 PM ^
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January 27th, 2016 at 12:23 PM ^
January 27th, 2016 at 12:09 PM ^
NFL is a $13B entity, good luck stopping that train
January 27th, 2016 at 11:59 AM ^
EPIC DOUBLE-POST!!!!!
January 27th, 2016 at 12:02 PM ^
January 27th, 2016 at 12:02 PM ^
I think that we are going to find out as we study CTE more is that there is a genetic predisposition to it. Jacobi mentions in his article that there is no math formula for how much CTE someone has for each hit they take. Stating that football is a gamble. Because on one hand you have Sash whom played 16 years and only 7 or so was at a college level or greater and the claim is football killed him. On the other you can take someone like Mark Schlereth who played 17 years (5 college/12 pro) of college and pro football in the trenches taking hit after hit and be generally fine as far as mental health goes.
So think the next step of this research is going to turn up that a certain percentage of the population has a higher CTE risk factor than the normal individual and that some have a low CTE risk factor compared to the normal individual. With the remainder of the population filling out the middle of the bell curve.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:19 PM ^
First off - we really don't know that Schlereth or any living football player.
Second - the lid comes off the can as soon as physicians can begin to scan for CTE on living football players. The minute physicians are able to confirm that a high school football player has CTE will be the minute that the push begins to ban high school football.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:29 PM ^
If I recall, they have (or at least believe) found that just playing High School football can give you CTE. I cited Schlereth as a behavioral comparison and should have been more clear about that. In the Jacobi piece the people around Sash cited erratic and impulsive behavior. Yet you have many football guys across a plethora of networks that played more football and at a higher level than Sash that don't seem to show those characteristics.
Also, my thinking CTE prevalence being linked to genetics is purely speculative.
January 27th, 2016 at 1:04 PM ^
January 27th, 2016 at 12:04 PM ^
January 27th, 2016 at 12:54 PM ^
Everyone knows it is violent. EVeryone knows that there are risks involved. However, many people feel those risks are being "overblown" and that, well, life is risky. I think a lot of people would also not consider it barbaric. What does that mean? Are any of the following barbaric or too risky?
1. Fist fight to defend the honor of someone?
2. Fistfight to protect personal property from theft?
3. Mixed Martial Arts?
4. NASCAR?
5. Hockey?
6. Sticking up for yourself and fighting a bully at school?
7. Driving in a car when we don't have to do so?
You can debate whether you think risks should be taken and the benefit of the same. There is a LOT of praise, glory and potentially money/education to be gained from the risks involved in football. Is it worth the risks?
Debate that.
But, don't write some hackish "clickbait" article claiming football killed people that it didn't kill. That is just sad/wrong.
January 28th, 2016 at 6:02 PM ^
This is a Bad Take and should be retracted.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:04 PM ^
does a football player need to be concussed to raise the risk of CTE?
Couldn't the blows to the head over several years be sufficient?
Or is the risk substantially less if you go through an extensive football career and get concussed at most one or twice?
January 27th, 2016 at 12:11 PM ^
you're going to see a rise in this in MMA soon
January 27th, 2016 at 12:42 PM ^
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January 27th, 2016 at 1:36 PM ^
Sure, but at least in MMA, people are signing up to get hit in the head. There's no way to run a fighting league while outlawing that.
In football, it's not an essential part of the sport, and it's not something that people necessarily thought a lot about before the last few years. Football should be doing everything it can to mitigate this risk.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:13 PM ^
The way many parents love the sport as fans and refuse to read and give weight to the emerging science about the sport, I don't think they should be allowed to make the choice for their kids. Just like they legally can't make the choice to allow their kids to consume alcohol. Outlaw it until a player reaches X age.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:59 PM ^
That isn't going to solve anything. I think there should be a competancy test for people to even have children. Right? Maybe a law against wrestling with your borthers in the backyard until a certain age? Also, I would personally like to see a law on what you allow your kids to EAT prior to a certain age. We all know obesity is MUCH MUCH riskier than football for your health.
People don't like free will or choice anyway.
/s
January 27th, 2016 at 1:09 PM ^
we can all agree that people should not eat pizza until at least 6 months. AT LEAST.
January 27th, 2016 at 2:09 PM ^
to stay up to date on the risks and what can be done to reduce them and clearly explain those findings to the players and to the parents of minors. It's clearly incorrect to say the players or their parents know the risks. Many lack the wherewithal to learn those on their own. Just asking for waivers to be signed is not nearly good enough.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:14 PM ^
People work in coal mines and get cancer from it. Should we ban mining? That's their choice. They take the big pay over the health risks of it. In the same token, nobody is holding a gun to college football/nfl athletes heads and saying that they have to play.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:16 PM ^
Where can I sign my kid up for the 4th grade coal mining team?
January 27th, 2016 at 12:25 PM ^
looks like they banned that in 1885
January 28th, 2016 at 11:32 PM ^
classic Nanny-statism!
January 27th, 2016 at 12:59 PM ^
Coal miners are doing the job for "the big pay"? Really? My understanding is that most miners work in the mines because they have no other realistic choice.
I'm guessing you've not spent much time around coal mines. Because in my experience, coal miners are not typically rolling in cash.
January 27th, 2016 at 5:25 PM ^
In a relative sense - coal miners are doing the job for "the big pay"
Now, the "big pay" is like $20-$25/hour... but that is about 2x what they would make in other jobs for which their experience and education qualify them.
January 27th, 2016 at 1:12 PM ^
Big Pay? Choice? .... not a good example.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:18 PM ^
Other things that kill people: fast food, skiing, driving sports cars, sitting on your ass all day.
I'm guessing Mountain Dew and McDonald's have caused more early deaths than football, and yet football takes the P.R. hit and has to "change." Meanwhile, the kids who used to play football are free to buy all the Mountain Dew they want from the corner store and drive through McDonald's at will.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:27 PM ^
Yeah and kids die from snowmobile accidents or drowning all the time. It's unfortunate that stuff like that happens but there are kids out there who want to do fun things like football or snowmobiling or swimming. Sometimes life happens and bad things happen. I like driving but could die tomorrow in an accident on interstate 94. I won't stop driving because it's dangerous. If you don't want your kid playing or whatever then fine but I don't want other people to decide for me what I can and cannot do.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:42 PM ^
But there's a speed limit on I-94, and special equipment that kids use to ride in cars, until they're a certain size. And Kids aren't trusted to drive cars until they're 16...
Driving is dangerous, and we've done lots to try to make it less so.
January 27th, 2016 at 12:48 PM ^
They already do the same thing with football. Targeting call, helmets, equipment, rugby tackling etc.