Rob Gronkowski is well aware of chronic traumatic encephalopathy and its link to football players. The retired New England Patriots tight end seemed to have the brain disease in mind as he began to consider retirement before his 30th birthday.
“I’m aware of that. That’s why I took the action and got away from the game. I would not lie. I was walking around, my mood swings were totally up and down. I was aware what was going on with my body and my mind,” Gronkowski told NBC on Wednesday. “That’s why I had to walk away. I’m doing exercises. I’m getting the right treatment. I’m looking for brain exercises. For example, when I’m home at my house, I have a 750-piece puzzle.”
Gronk seemed to indicate he has seen medical side effects over his nine years in the NFL.
“I get treatment on my head,” Gronk said. “No lie, I felt my head. I used to have liquid. It used to be thick. My head used to be thicker, a centimeter of liquid in some spots. You feel it. I’d be like, ‘What the heck?’ You could put indents in my head. But finally I get the right treatments doing the right things. And it keeps your brain active. And I truly believe I’m just starting where I’m at. If I already got to here and I was that damaged, what if I keep doing it? I could keep going higher and higher. And it’s getting addictive in the best way it possibly can. That’s why I truly believe what I went through I went through for a reason — to make myself stronger in the end.”
Gronkowski has been making a media tour after signing on to promote a company that sells fitness products with cannabidiol, or CBD, an active ingredient in cannabis. During a press conference to announce his efforts to encourage CBD use for pain relief for athletes, Gronk addressed his emotional challenges during his career.
“I love all my fans. I love Patriots fans. I feel that love, but I want to be clear to my fans: I needed to recover. Football was bringing me down, and I didn’t like it,” Gronkowski told reporters on Tuesday in New York while beginning to cry. “I was losing the joy in life.”
