Incredibly depressing Wayne Chrebet piece

Boom's antidote to FOF's high brough humor:
(damn it. I'm late making this joke. Whatever)

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I agree. There's nothing tough about coming back into a game after suffering a concussion. It does make me wonder about the quality of the Lions medical staff.

 

How do you know Kitna didn't just say, "Screw you, I'm going back out there"?

Short of putting him in a strait jacket, they couldn't do anything. It's not like he was immobile.

 

The thing is those guys don't think they're being tough. Their head clears and feels fine again, so they think they're fully recovered and ready to play again. That's the thing about concussions, you don't realize you're still injured until you get hit again.

 

Hey, Kitna only went back out there to prove to Starman that he has balls, OK?

 

The medical staff should have told the coaches that Kitna suffered a head injury, possibly a concussion.

 

I realize it's popular to bash Gene Upshaw these days. Hey, it's fun. But while he hasn't really helped matters very much and he seems to have capitulated to a degree that's certainly out of my comfort range, it's wrong to blame Upshaw for the weakness of the NFLPA or the lack of benefits for retired players. The players, especially the retired players, should start by looking in the mirror. Maybe they haven't had inspirational leadership but they also haven't been able to keep themselves organized as a union dating back to the '60s. Historically, it's been the "skill" position players -- guys like Joe Montana, for example -- who've abandoned the union at the most crucial times, too, splitting the bargaining unit right down the middle and killing any ability to gain leverage. They should have fought for their benefits during their careers rather than waiting until they're retired and whining that the current group isn't doing enough to make up for their lack of foresight. It was the retired players' job to secure their own benefits but, for whatever reason, they didn't do it.

Here's a story from Yahoo! that provides a little better perspective than most of the stuff I've read:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-rootofproblem091807&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

 

Toon, former wide receiver for the New York Jets, retired in 1992 after suffering what he believes was his 13th concussion in his eight years in the NFL. He still suffers from post-concussion syndrome. On many days he is irritable, and he cannot even watch his three children ride a merry-go-round without getting dizzy himself. He is also easily fatigued and sensitive to light. Concussions have apparently altered his life forever.

 

I remember reading a story a year or two after Toon retired, and he said he spent days at a time in a dark room.

 

Lights Out
Can contact sports lower your intelligence?
by Barry Yeoman


Some 20 years ago, in front of a frenzied and antagonistic crowd, Harry Carson hurled his entire bulk—240 pounds—into an equally massive human body racing toward him across the field at Washington’s RFK Stadium. A middle linebacker with the New York Giants, Carson was a celebrated defensive football player, smart and agile, selected for the Pro Bowl even during years his team couldn’t eke out a winning season. Above all, he was known for aggression. Once, walking off the field after a game, Carson felt a tug on his jersey, turned around, and found himself eye to eye with O. J. Simpson. “Man, I’ve been hit by some of the best,” the running back told him. “But I’ve never been hit as hard as you hit me today.”

That day at RFK Stadium, Carson’s quarry was John Riggins, a Washington Redskins fullback with a similar reputation. Helmet against helmet, shoulder against shoulder, the players crashed with a concussion-producing impact that Carson would remember for decades. “It was like two trains colliding,” he would later say. Dazed, Carson dusted himself off and walked back into the Giants’ huddle—and as he stood holding his teammates’ hands, everything went black. He didn’t faint. He didn’t stop playing. For a few minutes, though, he found himself unable to interpret his coach’s signals from the sidelines. He couldn’t call the next play, as the middle linebacker is expected to do. He just remained in the game, doing the best he could until he regained his wits.

 

Wow - go figure - Just looked at my copy of today's Times and what is there - a story by Karen Crouse on Wayne Chrebet . How about that.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/sports/football/21chrebet.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1190392574-ShKCmG/u/WRZK5uU7hc2Sw

 

It's not a Wayne Chrebet story. It's a story about concussions in the NFL and she quoted Chrebet and Jon Kitna.

I really don't understand your dislike of Crouse. She does a very good job covering the Jets.