Chris Henry found to have had brain damage.

[Jackdog]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/sp...+%3E+Sports%29

This could explain a lot about his behavior issues. Kid didn't even have a string of concussions.

[SPTO]

I heard about that this morning. You normally wouldn't think that a WR would end up with brain damage to the point that he did. Most of the time this kind of thing is associated with guys on the Line. It just goes to prove that the violence which is an inherent part of the game can do a lot of damage even when there were no tell tale signs of brain injury while the player was active.

[grunt]

I posted a link to the Malcolm Gladwell story and Time magazine piece a few months ago. If Henry has brain damage as wr then imagine offensive linemen.

[Jackdog]

Quote: Originally Posted by grunt

I posted a link to the Malcolm Gladwell story and Time magazine piece a few months ago. If Henry has brain damage as wr then imagine offensive linemen.

Hard to imagine. I think this news is freaking out the NFL and Players Union.

[wwharton]

Quote: Originally Posted by grunt

I posted a link to the Malcolm Gladwell story and Time magazine piece a few months ago. If Henry has brain damage as wr then imagine offensive linemen.

I know this is of great interest to you. You do a lot of digging on players health, retired players, etc. I also know you're a huge NFL fan... what do you think can/should be done? The rule changes thrown out there obviously aren't the answer and most likely aren't driven by stuff like this anyway. I'm struggling to come up with any solutions if this is something that could end up being league wide.

[OSUFan_88]

Of course he did, he was a football player.

I'd be more shocked if he didn't have brain damage. And people want to tell me that the NFL should not look into protecting players. At least allow them to live to the ripe age of 60.

[spit_bubble]

Quote: Originally Posted by wwharton

...I'm struggling to come up with any solutions if this is something that could end up being league wide.

Some things that come to mind:

-Rule changes that de-emphasize hitting, and take into consideration head to head contact... Though this would obviously be a very dramatic change that I just don't see happening... At least with any real force.

-Reduce the number of games including preseason, add another bye week, limit hitting in practice... Anything to reduce exposure and allow healing.

-Mandatory Mark Kelso type helmets:

[spit_bubble]

Also maybe have weight limits on players???

I don't know what they are saying are the main contributors to this problem... But some of the linemen in today's game, when compared to years past, are just absurd.