NFL players have been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons. Ray Rice was suspended after a video surfaced of him punching his fiancé, and local players like Adrian Peterson and Jerome Simpson have had off-field issues of their own. When I write about football players on this blog it has to do with an injury they suffered on the field, and although I don’t specialize in head trauma, I’ve written a few posts on football concussions and prevention strategies. Now I’m beginning to wonder if the two problems – off-field violence and head injuries – are linked.
Previous research has shown that NFL players are at a heightened risk to develop what is known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). In fact, scientists suggest that nearly one-third of all NFL players will develop permanent neurological disorders as a result of repeated head trauma throughout their careers. Neurological damage has been shown to cause memory loss, mood swings and behavioral changes, which can sometimes lead to bursts of violent aggression.
Violent behavior and mood swings as a result of head trauma can occur at a young age; It’s not confined to old men in wheelchairs. Research conducted by two doctors at Boston University found that the mean age for symptom onset in individuals diagnosed with CTE was 34.5 years of age, and one individual expressed symptoms at the young age of 19.
Obviously neither Rice nor Peterson have been diagnosed with CTE, but at the ages of 27 and 29, they’ve certainly taken their fair share of hits. Could their violent behavior be linked, even partially, to repeated head trauma? It certainly seems possible, yet the NFL only seeks to punish offenders instead of treating the true issue at hand.
Something needs to change. We need to treat behavior disorders as diseases. We need to stop retributive punishment and treat with rehabilitation. It’s doubtful that CTE can be reversed, but the behavioral disorders that accompany it can be addressed.
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There is a true disease present in these people, that only now we are seeing.
Years ago, people thought that children with epilepsy were possessed by the devil and they were tortured by exorcism. Some people still believe that today! Now the same thing is being said about football players that lose control and react violently. They are committing crimes and people are reacting with knee jerk punishment.
Are they responsible for their behavior? Yes. Are they capable of telling right from wrong? Yes. We were all too ready to accept the wear and tear football players put on their bodies – “That’s why they make the big bucks” – but when it affects their brains and their behavior, their families, children and other loved ones, somehow no one wants to address it.
What will happen when the next football player gets convicted of DWI? We punish alcoholics with jail time when they are repeat offenders. Of course the recidivism is massive and jail has not been shown to be a deterrent. Instead, Alcoholics Anonymous has the best cure rate. Somehow making the diseased people feel better isn’t what the public wants. They want to make themselves feel better so we continue to punish people with disease instead of treating the disease.
I don’t claim to have all the solutions. I can’t answer the families of those who have lost a loved one in an accident fueled by alcohol. Similarly, I can’t answer the families who have been tortured watching their loved ones violent behavior, and my heart bleeds for the children who have suffered at the hands of abusive parents.
I can say with definitive clarity that punishment will not fix this problem; As much as people want, you cannot legislate out a disease. Punishment does not deter this behavior because nothing stops the angry impulsive person. Our culture and genetics provide victims with an excuse to react out of proportion. In a moment of anger they believe they are the victim, impulsively react, then rationalize afterwards how they were victimized and how their behavior can be normalized (He pushed my buttons, She hurt me, etc). They look for excuses, they make apologies, and they sometimes get punished. It doesn’t fix the problem.
Combine an angry impulsive brain with Cumulative Trauma Encephalopathy, instruct them regularly to cause pain to other people, to ignore their own head injuries and then expect them to act like normal people in society, because they make a lot of money. It’s not going to happen. Ray Rice and AP have done terrible things, but Pandora’s box just opened. There is a lot more to come.
Related source: MedPage Today
