CTE linked to 25 yr old Steeler who killed himself

[OnceAhawk]

Adrian Robinson Jr. had brain disease CTE, autopsy shows
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/1...ian-robinson-jr-killed-april-had-brain-injury

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Researchers have confirmed that a former NFL lineman from Pennsylvania who died of suicide at 25 had the brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Adrian Robinson Jr.'s diagnosis was confirmed Wednesday through officials at the NFL brain bank at Boston University.

Family lawyer Ben Andreozzi says Robinson had several concussions during two seasons in the league. The family has not filed suit over his May death in Philadelphia.

"He went from being one of the nicest guys you'd ever want to talk to, to having a darker edge at times," Andreozzi said. "The family started noticing changes in his behavior and didn't know why."

Robinson, of Harrisburg, appeared in 12 games for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2012. In 2013, he played six games for the Denver Broncos and two for the San Diego Chargers.

Robinson had signed with the Canadian Football League's Hamilton Tiger-Cats as a free agent April 27.

He played for Temple University before turning pro.

Scientists continue to debate the potential links between concussions, CTE and suicide.

Concerns about repeated concussions have led to congressional hearings and new rules on when student and professional athletes can return to play.

Chris Nowinski of the Boston University-affiliated Concussion Legacy Foundation confirmed Robinson's CTE diagnosis.

He said that 88 of 92 NFL players whose brains have been tested there have shown evidence of CTE, along with 33 others who played college or high school football. The brains are studied posthumously when families seek testing.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

 

[20"Terminator]

OK, since this is a popular topic right now (with Sash and others in the news), I have to post a rebuttal to this notion that football players are all committing suicide due to repetitive concussions and CTE. This just isn't true... Does it cause permanent damage in the brain which can be seen on autopsy, yes. Does it likely have effects on memory, cognitive function and mood, yes. Is it responsible for causing football players to commit suicide, NO. There are studies that show that the prevalence of suicide among NFLers is actually lower than the general population. Their deaths are just much more high profile and people mistakenly associate their transition to pro football as a time when they develop "unexplained mood changes" which also tends to be the same time in development that many people (even us normal people) first display signs of mental illness.

Below is excerpt from article talking about this and link below that. Ok carry on.

"And when researchers have looked for the football-suicide connection more directly — asking, basically, whether suicide is more common among professional football players — the evidence does not suggest such an effect. One large study compared cause of death for about 3,500 professional football players to cause of death for the general population. Researchers found suicide was less common among professional football players than others (there were nine deaths from suicide in their sample versus an expected 21.8 based on the general population)."

Full article: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/do-concussions-lead-to-suicide/

 

[Hawk_4shur]

I don't disagree with you Terminator, but I look at this differently. The question IMO is not whether football causes suicide, its whether football causes CTE.

Football is a brutal "game" in which men are putting subjecting their bodies to punishment that takes and enormous toll. So, in addition to the countless stories about former players that can't walk at age 50, we are now seeing more examples of brain injury. If a person that has brain damage doesn't commit suicide, it doesn't mean he is "fine".

 

[Titanhawk2]

Of course the only time anybody looks for CTE are the small number of football players who apparently die young. If it's there it must be from football. What about everybody else? You don't know that it is not there because they don't look or you don't die