HARTFORD, Conn. _ Joe Linta played football at Yale before making a living as an NFL agent and football coach at Hamden Hall. Yet he wonders if it is worth it for his son to play.
A recent study by Boston University on 202 former football players found much evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The study stopped short of proving the condition, a progressive degenerative disease of the brain, is prevalent in all football players. Yet it once again raised concern.
"My son T.J. (a quarterback at Brown) is in a game against Columbia last year and he got whacked hard after someone missed a block," Linta said. "He fell hard and his head whiplashed back into the turf. He wasn't throwing up or anything, but he clearly had a moment of memory loss and dizziness for maybe 45 minutes to an hour. It took him nearly a day to recover.
"As a parent, I would look at that and say (football's) not really worth it and, God forbid, if he has one more (blow) of any significance, I'm going to have the conversation with him about whether it is really worth it.
"He's an example of a kid who is going to go out in the world and have opportunities for jobs. Is it really worth it? But it's something he wants more than anything and I am supportive of him _ to an extent."
The study confirmed that the high percentage of brains donated by families of players with multiple concussions or troubling symptoms before they died had CTE.
Football is a collision sport and vicious hits have been glorified. There have been famous, defining hits, such as Chuck Bednarik on Frank Gifford in 1960, or many on Oakland QB Kenny Stabler, whose brain showed Stage 3 CTE (of four stages) after his death. But the ongoing awareness and concern with head injuries continues to shift the landscape. Long gone are the days when ESPN fed clips of brutal hits to its audience in a segment that was called "Jacked Up." ESPN took heat for magnifying such things.
"We used to get that criticism years ago when we did the 'Jacked Up' segment (ended 2006)," ESPN's Mike Soltys said. "But our coverage has evolved as everyone has become even more acutely aware of CTE/head injuries/concussions. We have also been aggressive in covering the story."
High school coaches spend a lot of time teaching proper tackling techniques and schools are required to educate parents and players on the signs and symptoms of concussions.
The NCAA imposed a rule this year that prohibits two-a-day practices, long a staple of the preseason for college football teams. According to a study by the NCAA's Sport Science Institute, 58 percent of concussions that happen in football occur during the preseason.
Teams can still hold two practices a day, but one needs to be a "walkthrough" with no contact, no helmets, no pads and no conditioning activities. Three hours of recovery are required between practices. Teams are still permitted to hold 29 preseason practice sessions, the same as before.
"I think everybody understands that when you play this game, there are situations where injuries can occur," UConn coach Randy Edsall said. "But I think the one thing that we try to do is make sure, as coaches, we're teaching the best ways and the safest ways to play the game. And I think if we do that, and if the players who are playing the game try to do that, then they're going to cut down on some things.
"So if we see a guy that lowers his head to make a tackle, we're going to try to correct him. We're going to tell him."
Edsall says he always makes it a point each summer during camp to show the players the warning label on the back of helmets that in parts says "do not use this helmet to butt, ram or spear an opposing player." The warning label also says, "Contact in football can results in CONCUSSION-BRAIN INJURY which no helmet can prevent."
Coaches have to be vigilant.
"If you see something, you just get him to the trainers and allow the trainers to do their job," Edsall said.
UConn senior defensive lineman Luke Carrezola said he takes technique seriously.
"I've been playing football all my life," Carrezola said. "There's no chance I regret playing football. It's taught me so much about life in general and all the decisions I make on the football field and off the field. Whatever happens with my future with, you know, the whole CTE and other head injuries, I don't regret playing."
A class action lawsuit brought on behalf of current and former NCAA student-athletes in all sports is pending before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. A preliminary settlement has been reached that says any NCAA athlete who played before July 15, 2016 "may be entitled to free medical screening and may receive free medical testing, known as 'medical monitoring,' up to two times over the next 50 years." A final hearing is scheduled for Sept. 22.
