HJNO May/Jun 2023

to say, “What is often missing or buried in media reports and public opinions about McKee’s findings [McKee has neuropatho- logically confirmed CTE in over 450 donated brains, the majority of themNFL and college players] almost always, she examines the brains of former professional players whose lives ended tragically or in despair — a tiny sliver of the overall population of former football players and athletes in other con- tact sports — because tormented spouses and children are quick to come to her to find meaning and answers. The families of ath- letes whose minds stayed sturdy rarely seek her out when their loved one passes away. That leaves a significant gap in the research.” I guess this widow, who is indeed “trou- bled”by the NCAA’s disparaging comments about brain donations to science, wonders if the repeated blunt force trauma my hus- band and the hundreds of thousands of young men endured from multiple thou- sands of hits on the gridiron is the root of the lack of “sturdiness”they refer to in these former NCAAplayers. Players like my hus- band were taught to “lead with their heads,” and they complied. They were trained to comply; if you didn’t, you didn’t play. The NCAA is the rule maker and protector of these players. That is why they were cre- ated — to make the game safe for the play- ers. That is why they exist — not to earn $1.6 billion dollars. So, when the NCAA makes a “rule” in 1976 to “not use the head as a weapon,”and my hus- band’s college helmet from 1989 says, “WARNING: Do not strike an opponent with any part of this hel- met or face mask. This is a violation of football rules and may cause you to suffer severe brain or neck injury including paralysis or death. Severe brain or neck injury may also occur accidentally while playing football. NO HELMET CAN PREVENT ALL SUCH INJURIES. YOU USE THIS HELMET AT YOUR OWN RISK,” what game was the NCAAwatching? I know the games were broadcast — because they made a ton of money off of the media rights. They certainly were not watching the one played or practiced by the men of the 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s who were taught “to lead with their heads” and sustained thousands of blows each sea- son. Blows we wouldn’t allow to happen to our cell phones, let alone to brains with no internal mechanisms to recover from broken neural pathways and that cannot be replaced like our precious cell phones can. Yes, these men went to college on the NCAA’s dime; yes, they did what they were asked; and yes, the NCAAand their football programs profited heavily from them. But the NCAAwas charged with protecting these young men. The public did not get to attend practices. We didn’t get to see the brutality these men, I have come to learn, endured on the practice field, where the majority of the hits occur. Some football experts, those who attended Division I NCAA football practices, say that a player in my husband’s position would have received up to 10,000 head hits per season, even if that player never started a game. You multiply that by five college football seasons, and that is 50,000 hits in college ... and we haven’t even started counting high school or junior high hits. The 1985 NCAA Football Rules and Interpretations states, “The hel- met shall not be used as the brunt of contact in the teaching of blocking and tackling.”This was not enforced. It also states, “The football helmet is for the protection of the player and is not to be used as a weapon.” Smith’s football helmet from his 1989 season. Below: Warning label on the back of the helmet.