Bad sports, good sports: Junior Seau’s suicide renews focus on concussions

Posted on May 7th, 2012 by Alan Spoll

Greetings from Las Vegas. I used to come out here every year for the opening weekend of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. In fact, that was the subject of my very first Bad Sports, Good Sports column back in early 2009. I had not been out here since we stopped going for basketball, though, until today, when I arrived for a work conference. Although this city gave me fodder for that initial weekly missive, today it is likely to only keep this column short, as a long travel day has left me pretty beat, and the clock is simply mocking me with its bogus three-hours-earlier-than-it-feels-like reading glowing in green letters next to the bed.

The big news of the week was the untimely death of former NFL great Junior Seau. The long-time San Diego Charger was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest on Wednesday in his home in Oceanside, California. Seau played in the NFL for 20 seasons, most of them with the Chargers, and the last few of his career with the New England Patriots. He retired for good in 2009. He made the Pro Bowl 12 consecutive times, from 1991 to 2002, and was one of the best linebackers of this era. He also seemed to be one of those guys that was beloved by everyone. His suicide has come as a shock to most people, although there was an incident back in 2010 that might have been an early indicator of what was to come. Seau was arrested on a domestic violence charge after a reported attack on his girlfriend in October of that year, and then, just hours later, was in a scary car crash that saw his vehicle plunge down a 100 foot cliff. He survived that crash, amazingly, and told police that he had fallen asleep while driving.

This whole incident has intensified the focus on the problem of concussions in football, which remains a very hot topic, as it has been for the last couple of years. Seau would appear to have suffered his share of concussions over his long career, and the details of his death are very reminiscent of those of another former NFL player, Dave Duerson, who also shot himself in the chest. Duerson had left a note indicating that he killed himself that way, rather than with a shot to the head, so that his brain could be studied and more could be learned about the dangers of concussions. Seau’s family initially said that his brain would be donated for the same kind of study, although, at the time of this writing, they may be changing their minds on that, due to religious concerns. For the sake of so many other football players and their futures, I do hope that they decide to go ahead with the donation. The man is dead, and certainly has no current need of his brain. If he killed himself the way he did in order to facilitate that research, it would be a real shame if the family denied that final wish. It must be an extremely difficult time for them, of course, but this would seem to be a pretty clear decision.

It is clear that there is still a lot to learn about the dangers of head injuries. Current and future players will benefit greatly from the research that is being done. Yes, as a fan, it is easy to lament the rule changes in football that have seemed to make the game much less macho than it used to be, but these are people’s lives we are talking about here. It is important to keep that in perspective.

Bad sports, continued:

2) In the aftermath of Seau’s death, former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner, now a commentator for the NFL Network, stated that he would prefer that his sons grow up to do something other than play football, as he is scared for their health. Amani Toomer, the one-time New York Giant, took exception to Warner’s comments, saying that Warner should keep his mouth shut since he benefitted so much from the sport. I am not sure what one thing has to do with the other. Warner was simply being a concerned dad, and Toomer should think before he speaks.

3) New York Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire punched a glass fire extinguisher case as he left the court after his team lost to the Miami Heat in game two of their playoff series on Monday. What a genius. The damage to his hand forced him to miss game three.

4) Dale Oen, a champion swimmer from Norway, died on Monday at the age of 26. He suffered an apparent heart attack during training for the upcoming Olympics.

5) Long-time New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, a sure-fire Hall-of-Famer, will miss the remainder of the 2012 season after tearing his ACL during pre-game warmups on Thursday. Although he is 42 years old, Rivera insists he will make a comeback.

6) Clemson star receiver Sammy Watkins was arrested on drug charges on Friday. A traffic stop led to the discovery of marijuana and some pills in Watkins’ car.

Good sports:

1) New Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano bought himself a lot of goodwill this week when he signed one of his former players from his time at Rutgers. Eric LeGrand was paralyzed back in 2010 when he made a tackle that broke his neck. He will never play for Tampa, as he remains partially paralyzed, but the gesture was a great one.

2) The Miami Dolphins signed linebacker Cameron Wake to a contract extension this week that includes $20 million in guaranteed money. Wake’s story is a great one, as he went undrafted out of Penn State and ended up playing in the Canadian Football League. He became a dominant pass rusher there, and that led to him being signed by Miami. He has been a great player for them for the last three seasons, and they have rewarded him for his persistence.

Bad sports, good sports appears every Monday

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Alan Spoll

Alan Spoll is a software quality assurance director from the suburbs of Philadelphia where he lives with his wonderful wife and children. He has spent his entire life as a passionate fan of the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers, and Penn State. Recent Phillies success aside, you will understand his natural negativity. Follow me on Twitter - @DocAlan02