On 2 May 2012, Tiaina Baul "Junior" Seau Jr. took his life. It is alleged that he killed himself because of the repeated Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) he received from playing professional football. Seau shot himself in the chest, and his family donated his intact brain for autopsy.
Seau was a linebacker in the National Football League. He had a reputation for the intensity of his playing style. His career achievements included being a 10-time All-Pro, 12-time Pro Bowl selection, and named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team.
With the passage of time since Junior Seau's death, other deaths plus issues such as dementia, and Alzheimer's Disease, whose connection was suspected to have been linked to TBI have come to light. Such connections may, or may not bode well for the NFL who, just last year donated $30 million to the NIH for TBI Research. FRONTLINE is posting this documentary based on research in an upcoming book by Mark Fainaru-Wada and his brother Steve Fainaru.
Here is an excerpt from the book jacket;
" Everyone knew that football is violent and dangerous. But what the players who built the NFL into a $10 billion industry didn’t know – and what the league sought to shield from them – is that no amount of padding could protect the human brain from the force generated by modern football; that the very essence of the game could be exposing these players to brain damage.
In a fast-paced narrative that moves between the NFL trenches, America’s research labs and the boardrooms where the NFL went to war against science, League of Denial examines how the league used its power and resources to attack independent scientists and elevate its own flawed research -- a campaign with echoes of Big Tobacco’s fight to deny the connection between smoking and lung cancer. It chronicles the tragic fates of players like Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster, who was so disturbed at the time of his death he fantasized about shooting NFL executives; and former Chargers great Junior Seau, whose diseased brain became the target of an unseemly scientific battle between researchers and the NFL. ..."
This FRONTLINE story airs Tomorrow evening - on Albuquerque's PBS Affiliate, KNME at 8:00 PM.
Clearly, this documentary has the potential to incite passions - both pro and con. Nonetheless, the focus of your response ought to be on issues surrounding the biology of trauma. Opinions are welcome, just make sure your arguments are supported with research - particularly if you are going to be passionate about it.
Endnote: Feedback Response credits for a review of this Documentary will depend upon how in-depth you make your response.
A 1200-1500 word book-review will meet the 5 point Feedback Response requirement. If you elect to exercise that option, just e-mail me, to let me know of your intent.
