Junior Seau

[Mark1234]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned yet but if you don't know Junior Seau was found dead due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Now I was never a Chargers fan but always admired Seau's athletic ability and hard hitting. Apparently this came as a huge surprise to everyone.

It's really sad news for everyone involved.

I hate to make speculations on the subject but it just shows that you can have money, fame, women (you know he had many), and the dream life but you can still be suicidal. Just have to defeat those demons between the ear and love yourself.

 

[Warrior74]

I didn't know who he was until it was all over the news. This is what happens when your a non sports watching guy. I've been not faking interest about it all week. Then again my friends know I would rather read books, study technology and chase girls than watch sports. Sorry to hear this guy couldn't deal with his problems, but every man has the right to call it quits in my opinion.

 

[Bible_Belt]

He obviously had brain damage from his NFL career. One of the symptoms is a lack of impulse control. He had tried to kill himself two years ago by driving off a cliff. He shot himself in the chest, because like Dave Duerson he knew they would then be able to autopsy his brain, which is the only way his condition can be diagnosed.

 

[Mark1234]

Wow, that's pretty interesting. If I remember correctly he did have quite a few concussions during his career, which would explain the head/brain issues.

I also imagine someone living in the fast lane for so long and than trying to settle down and live a "normal" life would also feel a bit depressed.

 

[samspade]

I'm a big football fan, but lately I've found it more difficult to reconcile that with how sad it is that these guys are so f'd up. I know they get paid a lot of money, and some of it is due to steroids too. It still sucks to see the effects of brain trauma take their toll like this.

It's been a pretty bad offseason for the NFL press-wise. What's interesting is a lot of players and coaches are speaking out that the NFL is trying to wussify (my word, not theirs) football by imposing harsher penalties and better protecting players. It's the kind of argument you hear on sites like this about society and allowing men to be men. However in this case I think that it's not a case of feminizing something but of gathering more data and applying it in the name of health and safety.

 

[st_99]

He shot himself in the chest, because like Dave Duerson he knew they would then be able to autopsy his brain, .

good point, didnt think of that and wonderd why the chest as i would think you'd suffer more potentialy.

 

[Bible_Belt]

gathering more data and applying it in the name of health and safety.

It's all about the big lawsuit that is pending, which more ex-players keep joining. It has the potential to change the NFL forever, and it has already begun to do so.

There's one famous torts case (Hackbart v. Cincinnati Bengals, Inc. and Charles Clark, 601 F.2d 516) where a player sued another over a dirty elbow thrown to the head during an on-field fight. The ruling was that, although players consented to the risk of playing football, they didn't consent to getting beat up in fights because that was not part of the custom of football. That's the state of the law right now - the players consent to the risks that an average ordinary player would understand to be included within the game. Everybody knows that you can blow out a knee or break your neck while playing; that's why you can't sue over that. But should all of the ex-NFL players who are now suing for brain damage have understood that was one of the risks? And did the NFL learn about those risks before the players and not disclose them? Those are the two issues that the lawsuit will decide.