OT - 1994 Heisman Winner RB Rashaan Salaam dies
Former Colorado RB and Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam found dead at 42. Another gone too soon...2016, please end now.
Former Heisman Trophy winner and Bears' first-round pick Rashaan Salaam died at age of 42, per family spokesman. Another gone way too soon.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 6, 2016
Edit: Here's a story link
December 6th, 2016 at 3:37 PM ^
I just read that his body was found in a car in a parking lot at a park, and that no foul play was suspected. That sounds a lot like suicide. There is way too much of that going on among former CFB and NFL players. I know, I know, the suicide rates aren't that much different than the general population, just more high-profile. But the link between CTE and suicide is still very troubling...
December 6th, 2016 at 3:39 PM ^
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December 6th, 2016 at 3:42 PM ^
"Attribute" in the cause-and-effect sense? We can't, and probably never will be able to. But the same goes for smoking and lung cancer and related lung ailments; too many variables to establish cause and effect from correlation. Nonetheless, the fact that virtually every one of these players that was opened-up post-suicide to examine for CTE indeed showed signs of CTE is pretty telling, no?
December 6th, 2016 at 3:55 PM ^
December 6th, 2016 at 7:08 PM ^
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December 6th, 2016 at 4:02 PM ^
I certainly don't have the authority or knowledge to say whether or not there is a link between CTE and suicide, but no, on it's own, the fact that virtually every one of these players that was opened up post-suicide showed signs of CTE (Note that I don't know whether that is indeed a fact) is not at all telling. If the suicide rates are not statistically different (again, I don't know if this statement is true), then it seems unlikely to say that CTE is a major factor.
December 6th, 2016 at 4:28 PM ^
to argue against the link between head trauma and suicide, they're likely leaving out some important confounding factors. The first being income. There is strong negative correlation between suicide and income. The San Francisco Federal Reserve (weird sponsor I know) published a study concluding that people making under 34,000 a year have 50% more risk of suicide.
I believe there are links associated with former military service, and whites commit suicide at rates twice that of minorities and there are a whole slew of other factors that impact the general population but do not apply the same to the small sample of former NFL players. Based on difference incomes and demographics, one might conclude that former NFL players should have suicide rates much lower than the general population, so the fact that they're at the general level (assuming again, that that is accurate), means there's likely something else elevating that risk. Can't rule out the possibility of offsetting factors in the data.
December 6th, 2016 at 5:31 PM ^
Thank you. This was my point exactly about the impossibility of "causation." The NFL has responded to the admittedly hasty efforts to link CTE and suicide by being similarly hasty and citing the fact that a smaller proportion of NFL players commit suicide than the general public. This, of course, assumes that NFL players are "just like" the general population in every other way, with the exception of playing professional football. That is absurd.
No, we should not be too rush to damn football based on the several high profile suicides among players we've seen the last few years. But, we should also not be too quick to say, "whether CTE is real or not, it does not increase the risk of suicide." I think all can/should agree that this needs to be studied more and watched carefully, for the sake of the future existence of the sport itself...
December 6th, 2016 at 5:38 PM ^
December 6th, 2016 at 5:53 PM ^
Suicide rates among higher income groups are in fact a bit lower. However, suicide rates among the wealthy that live among other wealthy folks are actually higher than average. In other words, if you're rich and living amongst other rich folks, you're actually more like to commit suicide. Wrap your mind around that one for a moment...
December 6th, 2016 at 7:04 PM ^
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December 6th, 2016 at 6:44 PM ^
That's a fair matchup to call for, but if you're comparing population sets, keep in mind that the average former NFL player likely is more economically successful (and I'd argue more socially successful) than the average getting older male. Those are catagories in which low status often bolsters the chances of suicide.
December 6th, 2016 at 3:51 PM ^
December 6th, 2016 at 4:18 PM ^
He did have drug problems in the past...
December 6th, 2016 at 4:31 PM ^
C'mon, man. This is a pretty sensationalist rush judgement. Very little information has come out about this incident; you outline it in your comment.
Why rush to head trauma and suicide when a host of other explanations could be pretty reasonable and logical (e.g. drug overdose)?
December 6th, 2016 at 5:40 PM ^
I tried pretty hard to make it clear I was NOT rushing to judgment, but apparently failed.
FYI, the police in Boulder have now announced it is being investigated as a "likely suicide," so...
Again, I am in no way saying "football causes CTE, Rashaan had CTE, Rashaan killed himself because of CTE caused by football." Even if they do autopsy him and find CTE, we cannot make that link definitively. But at some point, a preponderance of evidence becomes so overwhelming that we cannot dismiss it any longer. For us, this is just a discussion; but for this sport and the folks that play it, the question is much, much more important.
December 6th, 2016 at 4:50 PM ^
Wondering if it is CTE or more of a looking back on life. He was right at Mid-Life Crisis range and could have looked back at a career that never fully paned out to what many thought it would.
As a person looking closer to that mid-life time frame I find my self assesing my life and I can only imagine being a top flight football player who never really met expectations and if he was struggling with life in general it could be real easy to look for the easy out.
December 6th, 2016 at 5:22 PM ^
out in here in Colorado is suicide is suspected..... Too bad RIP Rashaan.
December 6th, 2016 at 6:53 PM ^
if true.
But if his brain was damaged from too many hits it could be understandable.
December 6th, 2016 at 3:37 PM ^
Cocaine is a helluva drug.
December 6th, 2016 at 3:37 PM ^
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December 6th, 2016 at 3:37 PM ^
man, i remember rooting for that guy growing up. he was awesome. RIP.
December 6th, 2016 at 3:53 PM ^
Same here. Loved him. Colorado has always been one of my favorite non-Michigan teams and it was because of him.
December 6th, 2016 at 4:07 PM ^
I recall him as a really good running back........which was unusual for Colorado Buffs. It was great to see someone emerge as he did and make it to the NFL.
December 6th, 2016 at 3:40 PM ^
His jersey was the first I ever threw in the garbage.
December 6th, 2016 at 3:53 PM ^
Sports is not important compared to life
December 6th, 2016 at 3:58 PM ^
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December 6th, 2016 at 4:43 PM ^
Says Fishbulb
December 6th, 2016 at 4:45 PM ^
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December 6th, 2016 at 3:56 PM ^
I am going to say this just once - regardless of your feelings for the man, please strive to be a better person in moments like this.
While I don't understand what evokes such a reaction in you regarding Salaam per se, whatever it is has no place in a thread about his death.
December 6th, 2016 at 4:08 PM ^
He already negged you, so it's your move. Bolivia would be a sensible destination, and permanently.
December 6th, 2016 at 4:04 PM ^
Speak ill of the dead unless it's Stalin or his ilk. Bad form and bad karma.
December 6th, 2016 at 4:09 PM ^
I have a hard time trying to imagine what would make anyone post such an awful message.
I just don't get it.
December 6th, 2016 at 4:14 PM ^
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December 6th, 2016 at 4:47 PM ^
That comment makes perfect sense there. No sense here.
I've done that before although never quite like that. Usually when I misfire on a thread comment it just makes zero sense to the overall discussion. I'm not isulting somebody who just passed away.
December 6th, 2016 at 6:56 PM ^
There is always that opportunity to "Edit" and it was not chosen in this instance.
That's an ugly display of one's personality if intended as such.
Yikes again.
December 6th, 2016 at 7:02 PM ^
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December 6th, 2016 at 9:44 PM ^
December 6th, 2016 at 4:15 PM ^
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December 6th, 2016 at 3:55 PM ^
Another gone too soon...2016, please end now.
Did people never die young before 2016?
December 6th, 2016 at 4:02 PM ^
That meme is getting a bit tired. Yes, some celebrities died this year and the presidential election featured a couple of unpopular candidates, but you'd think the bubonic plague had returned or something.
December 6th, 2016 at 4:24 PM ^
Touché . . . though I think it probably won't kill off one-third of the population in a few months. 1347 was kind of a crappy year.
December 6th, 2016 at 4:29 PM ^
The Great Mortality was 1347-1353.
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December 6th, 2016 at 6:09 PM ^
December 6th, 2016 at 4:23 PM ^
Damn!
I live in Denver, and he would call in a few times a year on one of the local sports talk radio stations (Alfred Williams co-hosts a show out here). Always came off as a really nice guy during those interviews.
December 6th, 2016 at 4:35 PM ^
December 6th, 2016 at 5:29 PM ^
This is so extremely sad to me. He should be in the prime of life, and not gone. A loss of hope, of happiness, of meaning. This hits hard.
There's a quote in the ESPN article that caught me:
Marijuana use contributed to his problems in Chicago. "It probably had me out there lackadaisical instead of going out there 100 percent," he told ESPN in an interview then. "Everybody thinks getting high is cool, you can let it go when you want to let it go," he said. "But it's just as potent as cocaine."
I would love to hear from mgobloggers regarding their thoughts on marijuana use. It certainly was prevalent on campus when I was at UM. I was never a user, but never thought it was a big deal . . . just a personal choice. Use it or don't use it. Whatever. As time goes on, I wonder more and more about the reality of what smoking weed does to a person, and suspect that it just isn't a good thing. But I certainly don't know personally.
December 6th, 2016 at 6:19 PM ^
I would rather live in a world where drug use was destigmitized. Doing so takes nuance. There is definitely truth behind the intention of what he meant there, but that kind of alarmist and incorrect statement is not useful.
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