Gale Sayers and Dwight Clark Suspect Football...

[welch]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/ear ... 2e394a2ab3

Gale Sayers and Dwight Clark, NFL legends with bad diagnoses, ‘suspect’ football is to blame

By Cindy Boren March 20 at 9:53 AM, Washington Post

Amid a weekend dominated by headlines about March Madness, there was a double whammy of awful news about two great, beloved former NFL players.

A story from Kansas City detailed the dementia that is claiming the memories of Gale Sayers, the Chicago Bears’ legendary running back, while Dwight Clark, the San Francisco 49ers’ wide receiver who was one half of “The Catch,” announced that he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

For both men, there is an awareness that playing football may be a contributing factor to what they are experiencing now. Clark is at least the fifth former NFL player in the last 10 years to be diagnosed with what is also called Lou Gehrig’s disease. While he said in a statement that he doesn’t know for sure whether football “caused this,” he adds that “I certainly suspect it did. And I encourage the NFLPA and the NFL to continue working together in their efforts to make the game of football safer, especially as it relates to head trauma.”

The game we love, every day it seems, is claiming the players we’ve loved.

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Painful. It's one thing to see a pitcher lose his career because of an arm injury. This is different. This is a life.

[Burgundy&GoldForever]

The NFL as we know it has a limited shelf life. The CTE lawsuit alone is going to fundamentally change the game. At the same time, there is no way these players didn't know the risks long before they played at the professional level. It's hard to muster sympathy for someone who made a conscious choice to get the snot knocked out of them for money.

[TexasCowboy]

Had a cousin who served in Vietnam that contracted Lou Gehrig's disease, went
through hell what a shame this will claim 2 more victims and many more before
there is ever a cure for it

[welch]

The NFL as we know it has a limited shelf life. The CTE lawsuit alone is going to fundamentally change the game. At the same time, there is no way these players didn't know the risks long before they played at the professional level. It's hard to muster sympathy for someone who made a conscious choice to get the snot knocked out of them for money.

When Gale Sayers played, no one talked about brain damage and the NFL. People pointed to knee injuries -- see Joe Otto -- but not brains. Dwight Clark played into the '80s, but there no connection was drawn between the NFL and CTE. That has mostly been since the early '90s.

[OldSchool]

I don't know what can be done to reduce the problem. Joe Paterno said eliminating helmets would alter play and reduce CTE. Seems counter intuitive but thinking back to playing tackle football without a helmet in pick up games we were more careful how we tackled. Somehow the game is going to have to change.

[SKINS#1]

Legends and heroes do NOT wear shoulder pads. They wear body armor, carry rifles and don't make millions.