The Suicide of Dave Duerson

What is it going to take to get people to start helping these guys? Former professional football players (and I'm sure a lot of college and younger kids, too) are getting serious brain issues later in life.

Former Chicago Bear and Notre Dame defensive back, Dave Duerson, is the latest in a long line of deaths that are being directly attributed to brain damage caused by football injuries. Ironically, Duerson was an NFL Players Association rep as a member of a six-person committee that weighs disability claims for retired players. This same committee has come under fire from high-profile former players such as Mike Ditka as well as medical organizations and fans for denying benefits to veterans.

You can read more about Duerson's tragic suicide here: Duerson sent texts before suicide (ESPN)

The NFL isn't helping anything. Flagging and fining players for head shots isn't the solution. Hits to the head happen. It's just flat out part of the game. Nothing can prevent the brutal damage done due to the sheer size and speed of these players. I, myself, sustained more than a couple of concussions while merely playing high school ball. Now add a decade of seasons and an increase in talent.

What the NFL needs to do is focus its money and attention to preventing the damage, not the hits. The helmets need to be reevaluated and redeveloped. There has to be a way for some company to rake in on a patent for the helmet of the future.

I like the new rules on entering a game in which a player has sustained a concussion. I'm glad they're paying more attention to doctors than the players now. No NFL players wants to the leave the game. There are too many bonuses and incentives built into the contracts for skill players, and the others play for the love of the game. They don't want to lose their starting positions and they don't want to be called a baby by teammates and fans.

Players and coaches should not be allowed to make the decision on when someone is "healthy enough" to go back into the game. Doctors should be paid by the league and not the team. They should be an impartial entity designed specifically to ensure the safety of the players.

If the NFL is serious about protecting their players then they absolutely **MUST** start doing things to prevent injuries. Defensive players making upwards of ten million dollars a year don't care about a $50,000 fine for hitting a wide receiver "too hard". Sure they don't like to lose money, but they won't change the way they play the game. They've been playing the game a certain way for as much as twenty years and you can't un-teach that kind of mentality.

Build a better helmet. Give doctors more power.

Do something.