Replies

who thinks they can repeatedly hit their head on something(s) and come out ok afterward? Esp. when it happens for weeks on end, year after year. It does not take ‘studies’ to figure out that, gee, multiple concussions can’t be good for brain matter.

So, on the one hand: lots of money, fame, etc. On the other, brain damage. I think NFL players picked their poison.

What about soccer, which features the "head shot," in which the player uses his head to hit the ball? And don't forget baseball. Tony Conigliaro's death at the age of 45 was probably due, at least in part, to having been hit in the head by a bean ball.

What about soccer, which features the "head shot," in which the player uses his head to hit the ball? And don't forget baseball. Tony Conigliaro's death at the age of 45 was probably due, at least in part, to having been hit in the head by a bean ball. Heading a soccer ball doesn't feel great -- but I don't know that concussions are a regular occurrence in the sport (I don't know, I really don't follow soccer and haven't played since high school). Baseball? Head injuries are the exception, not the norm. One can hardly compare repeated crashing of the head into bodies and the ground as found in football to headers and the occasional wayward pitch or line drive. Sometimes #$%^&* happens. I played softball for years. Got clocked on the back of the head by a(I was a catcher) once or twice. I had a helmet (which I hated) so it was really not a big deal, but if I have some sort of damage to my head...I have some sort of damage to my head. I'm not going to sue the Girl's Softball Association over it. Football is a high-contact, dangerous sport. You make choices. And you live -- or die -- by them. I've got compassion for those affected by their decisions, but when you make a decision, you live with ALL of the consequences: good and bad, intended and unintended. That's the way life rolls.

Injuries in baseball are usually minor compared to football, and they don’t get hit in the head very often. in football, they make physical contact in almost every play. And by physical contact, I mean someone gets body slammed each time.
I’d agreed that hitting a ball with your head in soccer isn’t too bright, it isn’t the same as getting hit by a 200+ lb. man coming at you in full charge, with five more right behind him.

Gary Speed, a Welsh soccer player about the same age as Seau, committed suicide last fall. The thinking in Speed's case was that it was caused by depression due to the end of his sporting career.

Then there's the well-known sad case of relief pitcher Donnie Moore's suicide a few months after his baseball career ended.