Oceanside’s Samoan Superman had 1,526 tackles, 18 interceptions and 56.5 sacks during his illustrious NFL career. People said that nothing could stop him.
But on May 2, 2012 he stopped himself with a bullet to the chest. A region mourned the loss of a beloved icon and a favorite son.
The shocking suicide of future Hall of Famer Junior Seau makes him the eighth player to die from the San Diego Chargers 1994 Super Bowl team. There have been two other suicides within the past year, Atlanta Falcons defensive back Ray Easterling and Chicago Bears defensive back Dave Duerson.
After playing 20 seasons in the NFL, the answer to why Seau took his life at age 43 could rest in his battered brain. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy has been affecting boxers since the 1920s. There are now reports that confirm that CTE “in retired professional football players and other athletes who have a history of repetitive brain trauma.” CTE, according to the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, “is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes (and others) with a history of repetitive brain trauma.” The affects of repetitive brain trauma can manifest in a single month or take decades after the “last brain trauma or end of active athletic involvement.” CTE can lead to symptoms like those of dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease. Dramatic personality changes may allow be driving some to commit suicide.
Seau retired in 2009 and survived just three years after a lifetime of achievements that brought him fame, fortune and adulation. He was, by practically every account, a very nice man who was generous, gregarious, loyal, altruistic and bright. But storm clouds have been gathering over Seau, and some ventured that his well-publicized 2010 plunge off a Carlsbad cliff in his car was a suicide attempt. Seau said he had fallen asleep at the wheel.
Today, according to the USA Today, 67 lawsuits have been filed against the NFL by more than 1,600 former players because of the NFL’s failure to inform players about long-term effects of concussions.
Duerson killed himself in 2011 at age 50. According to his family, he suffered 10 concussions during his 11-year career. Duerson left notes to his family asking that his brain be donated to science. CSTE at Boston University’s School of Medicine concluded Duerson “had moderately advanced brain damage and CTE-related blows to the head.”
Players and coaches need to recognize the symptoms of a concussion and how to manage a concussed athlete. Researchers are studying the effects of concussions on the brain if there are no visible symptoms. This will affect the amount of time a player needs to rest before getting back into the game.
Legislation has been created in many states to protect young athletes. Bills are “to protect athletes who have been concussed by not allowing these athletes to return to play on the same day of the injury, requiring medical approval before concussed athletes are allowed to return to their sport, and by introducing training and education for coaches, athletic administrators, parents, and athletes as to the dangers of concussions,” according to a report in the Boston Globe.
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control research shows about 47 percent of high school football players sustain at least one concussion each season, and 35 percent of those sustained two or more in the same season.
We have to consider the possibility that of all the major contributions Seau made to the world, perhaps his last was most significant. A gunshot wound to his chest made it possible for his brain to be studied. That was likely his intent. His brain may hold answers and the future prevention of other athletes suffering the same fate.