Playing contact sports carries the risk of long-term brain damage. It only takes a minor concussion to affect the brain.<\/p>\n
Reading the sports section of the paper is depressingly dismal, as lately it contains stories about well-known and respected athletes who are suffering from traumatic brain injury or have taken their own lives as a result of those injuries. It is dismal for a number of reasons: to know that these athletes played and were allowed to keep playing, despite their concussions, that traumatic brain injury was apparently common knowledge, even years ago, but nothing was done about it, and that these individuals are suffering, or committed suicide, as the result of the negligence of others.<\/p>\n
Consider the case of Tom McHale, who played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1987 to 1995. He died of an overdose in 2008. Addicted to painkillers, he also struggled with severe depression. His autopsy showed (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Playing contact sports carries the risk of long-term brain damage. It only takes a minor concussion to affect the brain. Reading the sports section of the paper is depressingly dismal, as lately it contains stories about well-known and respected athletes…<\/span><\/p>\n