SIAP: John Urschel Retiring

Submitted by FrankMurphy on

Former NFL and all-Big Ten offensive lineman. Math genius. PhD student at MIT. Published scholar. Competitive chess player. Astronomy enthusiast. This dude might be one of the most fascinating and gifted football players in recent memory.

https://sports.yahoo.com/ravens-lineman-john-urschel-math-genius-retiring-football-142045948.html

EDIT: To be clear, although the media has attributed Urschel's retirement to concerns about CTE, that's pure speculation. Urschel didn't disclose the reason why he's retiring. In fact, it was John Harbaugh who initially announced Urschel's retirement, not Urschel. He has since issued a statement on Twitter, but all he said is that he's excited to start focusing on his PhD studies full-time and that he and his fiancee are expecting their first child. It looks like he's not trying to make a splash with his announcement or prompt discussion about CTE; he just made a decision to prioritize his math studies over football. More power to him.

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NittanyFan

July 27th, 2017 at 3:08 PM ^

to see at least SOME positive correlation between playing football and later lifetime difficulties.

Bank the few years of NFL $ and enjoy the 50 years yet to come.

Joined: 12/04/2012

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BursleyBaitsBus

July 27th, 2017 at 4:05 PM ^

I'd like to see an analysis of all deceased players' brains to make a proper assessment of the true CTE rates among former players, not just ones that were suspected of having it due to their erratic behavior prior to passing away. 

Obviously, gaining permission to do that from the families etc is the challenge there. 

I would be curious to see if the rate exceeds 40% and see whether there is a range of severity depending on the positions former players played. 

I would guess that Olinemen would have it worse due to the tons of smaller bumps and hits throughout the course of a game. WRs and QBs probably have the least CTE due to lack of that type of contact. 

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ca_prophet

July 27th, 2017 at 4:39 PM ^

If every deceased player not part of the study were to show no signs of CTE, the rate would be ~10% ... or about three times the rate in the general population. Raise your hand if you think no deceased player not already diagnosed would show signs.

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ca_prophet

July 27th, 2017 at 4:47 PM ^

He's a fascinating fellow - plays chess at a high level in his spare time and teaches the game to kids. He's played twenty games in parallel for exhibitions to raise money. It appears that he can sustain a relationship, play/teach chess at a world-class level, make progress toward a PhD at MIT, and play in the NFL at a high level all at the same time. Think about that the next time we think we're too busy! Heck, I barely managed a life while I was an undergrad at MIT - I shudder to think about doing one of those things in addition to a doctorate there, much less all of them.

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bronxblue

July 27th, 2017 at 6:34 PM ^

It's a smart move for him, and while he hasn't said yet that it is related to CTE concerns, I would assume that is a factor. I faintly remember an interview he did when it came out he was working on his PhD and he said he was concerned about the hits he had already taken and how they could affect his life after the game.

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