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This is a hard subject. CTE is a real thing and I have seen it first hand in several vets who survived IED attacks but suffered severe concussions with long lasting effects. It is addressed in the EOD community regularly.

The incidence of drug abuse is also higher than average among this group (those who had their egg rattled) and the VA system often contributes to this by long-term prescriptions because some of them really have a lot of medical and psychological pains. They also have little patience for the bureaucracy of the VA and drop out because of frustration too.

While this man is not a military veteran we still should not dismiss the possible ramifications of having a busted egg or that such an affliction might contribute to some horror.

It can even bring down heroes who busted their egg for us.

I don’t post this as an excuse for something so evil. I was dumbstruck at how senseless this horrific act was - it defied any reasoned explanation.

However, I would not want people to dismiss the idea that CTE or TBI’s (whatever you wish to call it) can cause some horrible things to happen to those who suffer it and those who cross paths with them.

We have a lot of vets who suffered some serious trauma that is hard to see and quantify in the “IED war” and we need to do our best to identify them and give them every ounce of help we can.

I do know of one football player who suffered a similar fate although he did not kill anyone but he did go to prison for a senseless act and eventually killed himself after he was released. Same diagnosis as here and a very sad story for an otherwise polite man with no history of violence (he was pretty likeable).

This is real. We should not dismiss the concept as a contributing factor even if we could never mitigate the grievousness of such an act. It is my opinion that the NFL should be very aggressive in identifying it and dealing with this as should the NCAA. The military has gotten better at recognizing it from experience and a desire to help although it does not always work as many with combat induced TBI’s refuse help or drop out of the system. I have seen that first-hand as well. It is tragic and some of them are walking time-bombs who are high risk for violence towards others or self-harm.

This is not an easy subject and it is certainly aggravated by narcotics usage (often stop taking prescribed meds to help condition), alcohol abuse (really bad for this condition), or volatile family or personal situations.

There are some unforgivable sins in the mortal world and this was certainly one, but I don’t let the NFL or NCAA institutions off the hook completely for this stuff just as I always understood that many of the most violent kids in the inner-city were crack babies or fetal alcohol syndrome thanks to their mother.

This whole story is very sad to me.