[Past Your Eyes]

I’ve had a couple concussions way back when and I never considered ending my life.
And what about hockey players? They get concussions and all other manner of beat up even worse than foolball players.

[dfwgator]

And what about hockey players?

Hockey’s summer of tragedy turns debate towards whether to keep fighting in the game

[discostu]

Hockey players are killing themselves faster than football.

What it really seems to be boiling down to is CTEs, if you take enough concussive damage (which we’re learning might or might NOT be accompanies by a diagnosable concussion) you’re gonna get CTEs, severe permanent perpetuating brain damage. CTEs are generally going to leave you with severe brain rot (basically early onset Alzheimers), “Parkinson’s like symptoms” (Muhammad Ali), or severe depression. If you manage to not take enough damage to get CTEs you’ll be OK, but if you cross that line (which nobody is quite sure where it is) you’re doomed.

[Alberta's Child]

I suspect there's a lot more to the post-career ordeals of NFL players than anyone is willing to admit. As you say, hockey players get pretty banged up, too ... but from what I've seen, the life expectancy of a former NFL player is alarmingly low compared to the population at large.

In addition to the concussions, I wonder if steroid use and unhealthy training practices are to blame.