Panthers' Thomas Davis talks CTE brain damage study
SPARTANBURG, South Carolina (WTVD) -- News that neuropathologists had discovered the degenerative brain disease C.T.E in 110 of the 111 NFL player brains they studied recently sent a shockwave through the football world Tuesday. The study by researchers at Boston University is detailed fully in this NY Times article.
The NFL has since released a statement on those findings.
On Wednesday at Panthers Camp, I asked Thomas Davis if he had read the report, what he thought of it and what impact it is having in NFL locker rooms. TD is always thoughtful and honest and he was again today:
Davis and his fellow NFLers have made and continue to make the decision that the risks are worth the rewards of a life in the game they love.
Making that choice for yourself is one thing. Allowing your kids to begin down that path is quite another. As the parents of two sons - TD and his wife routinely have that discussion:
It's hard to imagine the game continuing down this same path as the proof of its physical toll on player long term well-being becomes more and more stark.
Football is king, but the machine needs players willing to make that devil's bargain to play. Increasingly, that may only mean people who feel they've got no other choice.
