Props to Matt Calkins, a sports columnist for the The San Diego Union-Tribune, for his recent writing on brain injuries and sports.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/apr/28/tp-no-soft-soap-lets-call-brain-injuries-exactly/
In his column Sunday, Calkins essentially said that people — team officials, athletes, the press — should call a spade a spade.
The injuries that have plagued NFL players should not be described as head injuries, or concussions or by phases such as “having your bell rung,” according to the columnist.
Calkins wrote that the term “brain injury” should be used, to convey the seriousness of the danger and damage that players face when they get hit in the head.
This sports writer talked about the signature brain disease of retired NFL players, namely chronic traumatic encephalopathy, CTE, a degenerative condition that causes memory loss, dementia and depression. Two ex NFL players, Dave Duerson and Junior Seau, both committed suicide. And both were posthumously found to have suffered from CTE.
Take a look at Calkins’ column. It’s a good read.
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