Junior Seau, one of the more legendary players of the recent era, committed suicide last week and set off a firestorm around the NFL and in the general media. One sports writer said it would be a "sobering wake-up call" for the league and millions agreed. All of the sudden, concussions and suicide talk were interlinked across the nation as if that's the only reason Seau could have done it. Take a look at this article about why we shouldn't jump to such a (not-so) clear-cut conclusion.
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/05/junior_seau_s_suicide_are_concussions_responsible_.single.html
I get it...it's easy and comfortable to blame suicide on concussions and head trauma. After all, it's pretty blameless. Seau was sick not just depressed. He wasn't in control of himself. There was nothing that could be done. And maybe that's what happened.
But he also was an 20 year athlete who hasn't exactly had the best life since exiting the game, on top of exiting what was his entire life for 20 years. I would imagine retiring from a multi-million dollar job playing football for millions of adoring fans on the biggest stage in sports is a quite the change, and to a guy used to constant attention, aggression and intensity, it might not be a good change. Also, he got divorced, was involved in a domestic dispute and drove off a cliff within the last decade...any and all of which could have contributed to his state of mind.
I'm not saying concussions didn't have anything to do iwht it...but just stop and look at it from an objective POV...it may have been concussions, but before we cancel every peewee football game, high school program, and wrap pillows around our kids heads, let's take a look at all the factors and really make some informed and rational choices.
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