A study has recently shown that former NFL Players are more prone “to dying from degenerate brain disease” than the general population. In fact, these numbers have shown that the death rate is three times the normal rate among the general population. These diseases include Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Lou Gehrig’s Disease. While many might want to claim that the cause of this is the number of repeated head injuries that football players receive, the study cannot prove that this is the case. In fact, this study did not examine the number of deaths that resulted from CTE or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, which is caused by repeated blows to the head. In addition, the study might be a bit under inclusive because the survey might not include players that have played less than five years. To make the waters even more muddy, some believe that several cases that were part of the survey may have been CTE and was misdiagnosed. The reason that this occurs is because CTE can only truly be diagnosed after that person’s death throught a chemical test.
See Study: Players Prone To Brain Disease, ESPN, Sept. 5, 2012.
Special thanks to David S. Luber(Attorney at law, Florida Probate Attorney Wills and Estates Law Firm) for bringing this article to my attention.
