Head Trauma In Football

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The year was 2006. There was a mid-season game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New Orleans Saints going on. Saints rookie running back Reggie Bush lined up in the backfield in preparation for the next play. The quarterback hiked the ball and threw a screen pass to Reggie; he did not see Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown coming right toward him. The hit left Reggie stunned and he quickly got up and fell right back down (normally a sign of a major concussion). But the problem is not just occurring with current NFL players. Former players have not received the protection they deserve either. Lets look at former four-time Super Bowl champion, Mike Webster, a nine time Pro-Bowler. Mike played center for the Pittsburg Steelers. …show more content…

When doctors brought the NFL the brain of Mike Webster and said that the reason he developed certain head traumas was because of the many collisions he received on the football field without proper treatment, the NFL discredited them and said that there was not enough information to make that assumption. Head trauma is not the only area where the NFL fails to protect its players. Take retired Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Reggie Williams, a former winner of the NFL Man of the Year Award. Reggie played 14 seasons in the NFL from 1976 to 1989. But since retirement he has undergone 24 knee operations, which have left his right leg in utter disrepair. I in fact his right leg is three inches shorter than his left. He has had health problems since 2005. These problems have cost him around 500,000 dollars, none of which the NFL was offered any help in paying. Reggie was turned down when he applied for workers’ compensation from the Bengals. The workers’ compensation would have provided him with money for his Medicare. The NFL should be required to help pay for former players’ Medicare bills if they need help. The NFL also needs to revise its disability benefits guidelines since most retirees do not quality for them and the ones that do not receive much money from

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