“You are supposed to be tough. You are supposed to play through pain. You are not supposed to cry. We are taught that early on in the game as kids. Tough sport. Brutal sport. It’s like the gladiator. People want to see the big hits. They wind up on Sports Center. And as a player, you don’t want to admit you are injured,” commented Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson (Cite). The toughness and strength that football players endure is extremely admirable however, these “big hits”, also known as repetitive trauma to the brain, are causing erratic, irregular behavior, suicidal thoughts and can cause a number of life changing effects towards people and families. The more aware and knowledgeable the world is to brain trauma, the more studies can …show more content…
A concussion consists of trauma to the head which then forces the brain to hit any side of the skull. This can cause blurred vision, memory loss and many other symptoms that can result in brain trauma or CTE. A Mike Webster, a former NFL football player for the Steelers, was the first person that Dr. Omalu diagnosed with this disease. He presented with early signs of CTE along with mood swings and personality changes before he died. Dr. Omalu observed his brain and discovered this disease. Studies have shown that overtime, CTE deteriorates the brain and eventually will cause loss in brain mass. In other words, pathologist can determine whether or not someone has suffered from CTE due to their size of their brain. The difference between a healthy brain and a brain that has suffered from CTE would be the size difference and the brown spots that appear on the outside of the brain. These brown spots represent where the force occurred. MRI and other machines can determine if someone has had brain damage, like concussions. However, currently there is no technology that can diagnose CTE to living patients. According to Time Magazine, “CTE can only be officially diagnosed