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Ravens star, 26, who is also pursuing a PhD in math at MIT, RETIRES abruptly after shock study ...
DailyMail.com ^ | 27 July 2017 | James Wilkinson

Posted on 07/27/2017 8:37:25 PM PDT by Rockitz

Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman John Urschel has quit the NFL just days after the world's biggest study into a degenerative brain disease showed that it affects 99 per cent of players.

The study, which was announced on Tuesday, found that out 111 NFL players' brains examined by Boston University, 110 showed signs of damage due to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

That news so shook Urschel - who is studying for a mathematics PhD at MIT in the off-season - that he quit on Thursday, a friend told ESPN.

Urschel, who is 26, is studying spectral graph theory, numerical linear algebra and machine learning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He has already published six peer-reviewed mathematics papers and has three more that have yet to be reviewed. He's also an avid - and talented - chess player.

The player has previously complained of having his mathematical skills impaired by concussion, but until now he has maintained that he loves the sport too much to quit.

But on Thursday, just before practice, he turned in his notice without making a statement. He had been expected to compete at training camp for the position of starting center.

A friend told ESPN his decision was linked to the report.

'This morning John Urschel informed me of his decision to retire from football,' coach John Harbaugh said in a statement.

'We respect John and respect his decision. We appreciate his efforts over the past three years and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.'

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News
KEYWORDS: chitchat; cte; nfl; sportschat; urschel
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To: teeman8r
Within a decade, the NFL will consist of robots battling to the death... ok, maybe a century.



Guess Fox was onto something here.

21 posted on 07/27/2017 9:28:06 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Rockitz

He’s not your typical football player.
He has other options and wants to keep his brain.


22 posted on 07/27/2017 9:33:24 PM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizen Means Born Here Of Citizen Parents - Know Islam, No Peace -No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: nickcarraway
Kenny Hill, a strong safety who won Super Bowls with the Raiders and Giants back in the 1980s, graduated from Yale with degrees in biochemistry and molecular physics. The interesting thing about his college career was that he passed up a full football scholarship at LSU and attended Yale on a partial scholarship.

The Giants had another guy in the 1990s who was a real brain. He had been redshirted at a Big 12 school as a freshman so he had one year of eligibility left when he graduated, so he played another season after he graduated and pursued a master's degree in some specialized field of science in his fifth year. They showed his report card on TV during a game, and I didn't even recognize the names of half the classes he was taking. LOL.

23 posted on 07/27/2017 9:38:53 PM PDT by Alberta's Child ("I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris." -- President Trump, 6/1/2017)
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To: Rockitz

Good for him. Better to have your brain and no money than not have it and lots of money.


24 posted on 07/27/2017 9:41:36 PM PDT by LibWhacker
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To: lacrew

Bingo! We have a winner!

It would however be interesting to see a somewhat random sample.

Let’s start with all current and former 49ers!


25 posted on 07/27/2017 9:41:56 PM PDT by proudpapa (This is not the tagline you are looking for.)
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To: lacrew

Bingo! We have a winner!

It would however be interesting to see a somewhat random sample.

Let’s start with all current and former 49ers!


26 posted on 07/27/2017 9:41:59 PM PDT by proudpapa (This is not the tagline you are looking for.)
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To: RushIsMyTeddyBear

Wired covered that story yesterday. Based on that study of soccer players....they attribute their issues to ‘heading’ where you use your head to tap the incoming 50-mph ball into the net. What they said....issues start to develop around 1800 ‘headings’ in your career. There is some suggestion that players need to take a count of these and plan on retirement at some earlier age.


27 posted on 07/27/2017 9:43:00 PM PDT by pepsionice
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To: pepsionice

A lot of youth leagues are now banning heading.


28 posted on 07/27/2017 9:43:56 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Rockitz
Understands math, but apparently not how selection bias invalidates statistical inference: the "study" is no study at all. The brains examined were donated by family members who believed the decedents had CTE. All that the "study" established is that CTE is easy to identify in late term.

It certainly does NOT imply or even come close to suggesting that 99% of football players will suffer from the disease.

29 posted on 07/27/2017 9:46:26 PM PDT by FredZarguna (And what Rough Beast, its hour come 'round at last, slouches toward Fifth Avenue to be born?)
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To: Rockitz

I don’t know if football will die, but I imagine regular brain scans, both during and after the season will be required and maybe limits on total playing time. I think careers will be measured in minutes played and not seasons in the near future.


30 posted on 07/27/2017 9:54:30 PM PDT by VanShuyten ("...that all the donkeys were dead. I know nothing as to the fate of the less valuable animals.")
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To: lacrew

Bingo, you got it. All were donated because it was suspected.


31 posted on 07/27/2017 9:56:42 PM PDT by Axenolith (Government blows, and that which governs least, blows least...)
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To: lacrew

Even if not, they were all football players that were studied. With no background group - who is to say almost EVERY brain wouldn’t come back with it?


32 posted on 07/27/2017 10:04:54 PM PDT by 21twelve (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2185147/posts FDR's New Deal = obama)
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To: Rockitz

Rush will spend all of next week talking about this.

He was talking fb today...had to turn him off. Once he gets going on Apple or fb...it’s time [for me] to move on.


33 posted on 07/27/2017 10:10:02 PM PDT by Daffynition (The New PTSD: PRESIDENT-Trump Stress Disorder” - The LSN didn’t make Trump, so they can’t break h)
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To: Lurkinanloomin
He’s not your typical football player.

Yeah, he hasn't committed any crimes.

34 posted on 07/27/2017 10:11:39 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Rockitz

MIT is the best degree on the planet in relation to earnings over a 30 years period.

Football can do a two simple things to improve the health of players:
No more kick-off returns.
No more punt returns.

I know. It is heartbreaking to cancel two major parts of the game. But the health of players are more valuable than the numbers on the scoreboard.


35 posted on 07/27/2017 10:14:09 PM PDT by Falconspeed ("Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others." Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-94))
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To: lacrew

Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story!


36 posted on 07/27/2017 10:17:18 PM PDT by rlmorel (Donald Trump: Making Liberal Heads Explode 140 Characters At A Time.)
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To: lacrew

Those can’t handle contact sports should stick to math.


37 posted on 07/27/2017 10:20:14 PM PDT by sagar
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To: Falconspeed

I think it would be interesting if you took all kicking out of football. The only way to score is via touchdowns, no Field Goals. No punting, you get four downs and if you don’t convert, the other team gets the ball.

Then if you score a touchdown, I would do the two-point conversion, but with the added incentive of making it so that if you convert, you get the ball back. But you would get it back on your own 20 yard line, so you have the pressure of having to get some first downs, because remember, there’s no punting.


38 posted on 07/27/2017 10:27:36 PM PDT by dfwgator
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>> the world’s biggest study into a degenerative brain disease showed that it affects 99 per cent of players.

“the world” doesn’t play American football.

>> 111 NFL players’ brains examined by Boston University, 110 showed signs of damage

Positions? And what years were they playing?

Dubious report.


39 posted on 07/27/2017 10:29:23 PM PDT by Gene Eric (Don't be a statist!)
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To: Rockitz
He certainly is living up to his place in the intelligence spectrum.

Giving up the $$ and lifestyle of a NFL player requires intelligence and discipline. Hope his career using his degree is a full one.

40 posted on 07/27/2017 10:34:04 PM PDT by doorgunner69
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