Pro Football HOFer Nick Buoniconti "lashed out at the NFL for failing players and not doing enough to support" CTE research as he "pledged to donate his brain to scientists studying the long-term effects of repeated head hits," according to Ken Belson of the N.Y. TIMES. Buoniconti said that he "hopes that donating his brain will ultimately help doctors better understand" CTE. Buoniconti: "The fact that the NFL pulled its funding from [Boston Univ. CTE Center Dir Dr.] Ann McKee’s research prompted me to come up here and make a statement that the NFL is only in it for the money, and they don’t care about the guys who preceded me. I’m really angry because they turned their backs on us and it’s not a responsible way to do things." He added, "I owe it to the thousands of others who will follow me on this trek. My life is not what it was, and I just want to be able to help with Ann’s research and hopefully the research will end up helping so many other players" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/4).
WHAT'S THE FUTURE OF FOOTBALL? Pro Football HOFer Tony Dorsett said that he was "diagnosed with CTE" and is "receiving treatment in hopes of slowing it down," even though the only definitive test for CTE must be performed posthumously. In N.Y., Gary Myers reported Dorsett has "been to Mexico for stem cell treatment for various ailments and prays it will also have a positive impact on his memory and hold off the disease." He said, "I’m being proactive. I’m trying to find ways if I could cut it off at the pass. To this point, there is not a whole lot they can do about it." Myers noted BU researchers are "hopeful they are developing a test to detect CTE in the living." Dorsett: "I would surely like to get that test." Myers wrote the NFL is in "trouble" as it is a "violent collision sport." Players are "bigger, faster and stronger than ever and new technology in helmets and even more 15-yard penalties can’t obscure the basic truth." Myers: "It’s a great game; it does teach leadership and teamwork and accountability and responsibility -- but at what cost?" It "makes sense that with all the publicity about the impact of concussions that parents are forbidding their sons from playing tackle football" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/5).
SAFE SIDE: In Chicago, Patrick Finley reports Bears TE Ben Braunecker and DE Mitch Unrein both wear the VICIS Zero-1 helmet, which is "in its first year in the NFL." It is "designed differently than other helmets" in that a flexible outer shell "dents like the crumple zone of a car, and polymer columns located between the outer shell and a hard inner shell absorb the shock of a hit." VICIS' only helmet model "received the highest safety rating among 33 helmets in a study conducted this year" by the NFL and NFLPA to "determine what best handled concussion-causing impact." Unrein said, "It doesn’t look cool. A lot of guys are all about, 'Look good, feel good, play good.' But me, I’m like: 'Shoot, I’m a country kid. I don’t need to be looking good. I just need to go out there and play.'" Braunecker said that the Zero-1 "weighs more than his old helmet," but he "got used to it by the end" of his first training camp practice. Braunecker: "Once your neck and body adjust to it, you're surprised how well it works. ... I bet if more guys tried it, they'd come over to the safe side" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 11/4).
