Chris Henry found to have had brain damage.

[Jackdog]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/sp...+%3E+Sports%29

This could explain a lot about his behavior issues. Kid didn't even have a string of concussions.

[SPTO]

Re: Chris Henry found to have had brain damage.

I heard about that this morning. You normally wouldn't think that a WR would end up with brain damage to the point that he did. Most of the time this kind of thing is associated with guys on the Line. It just goes to prove that the violence which is an inherent part of the game can do a lot of damage even when there were no tell tale signs of brain injury while the player was active.

[grunt]

Re: Chris Henry found to have had brain damage.

I posted a link to the Malcolm Gladwell story and Time magazine piece a few months ago. If Henry has brain damage as wr then imagine offensive linemen.

[Jackdog]

Re: Chris Henry found to have had brain damage.

I posted a link to the Malcolm Gladwell story and Time magazine piece a few months ago. If Henry has brain damage as wr then imagine offensive linemen.

Hard to imagine. I think this news is freaking out the NFL and Players Union.

[wwharton]

Re: Chris Henry found to have had brain damage.

I posted a link to the Malcolm Gladwell story and Time magazine piece a few months ago. If Henry has brain damage as wr then imagine offensive linemen.

I know this is of great interest to you. You do a lot of digging on players health, retired players, etc. I also know you're a huge NFL fan... what do you think can/should be done? The rule changes thrown out there obviously aren't the answer and most likely aren't driven by stuff like this anyway. I'm struggling to come up with any solutions if this is something that could end up being league wide.

[OSUFan_88]

Re: Chris Henry found to have had brain damage.

Of course he did, he was a football player.

I'd be more shocked if he didn't have brain damage. And people want to tell me that the NFL should not look into protecting players. At least allow them to live to the ripe age of 60.

[spit_bubble]

Re: Chris Henry found to have had brain damage.

...I'm struggling to come up with any solutions if this is something that could end up being league wide.

Some things that come to mind:

-Rule changes that de-emphasize hitting, and take into consideration head to head contact... Though this would obviously be a very dramatic change that I just don't see happening... At least with any real force.

-Reduce the number of games including preseason, add another bye week, limit hitting in practice... Anything to reduce exposure and allow healing.

-Mandatory Mark Kelso type helmets:

[spit_bubble]

Re: Chris Henry found to have had brain damage.

Also maybe have weight limits on players???

I don't know what they are saying are the main contributors to this problem... But some of the linemen in today's game, when compared to years past, are just absurd.

[stiffarmleft]

Re: Chris Henry found to have had brain damage.

I think better helmets are the key, a better shock absorbent material, maybe nano-particles or some other high tech material. I'm sure if the NFL invested in some R&D, it could come up with something.

[Phobia]

Re: Chris Henry found to have had brain damage.

The most logical solution is developing a better helmet. I mean it would be a big blow to the NFL if they limit "how to hit". It would just get to hard to control.

"Flag on the field................I think he hit him to hard. This is going to come back..................15 yard penalty on the field. Hitting to hurt"

[spit_bubble]

Re: Chris Henry found to have had brain damage.

...it would be a big blow to the NFL if they limit "how to hit". It would just get to hard to control...

It wasn't too long ago when you saw guys actually try to wrap up the ball carrier instead of knocking the living *bleep* out of them.

In theory there could be a rule that forced defenders to try and actually make an attempt at a tackle...

But yeah that's not going to happen.

[wwharton]

Re: Chris Henry found to have had brain damage.

Some things that come to mind:

-Rule changes that de-emphasize hitting, and take into consideration head to head contact... Though this would obviously be a very dramatic change that I just don't see happening... At least with any real force.

-Reduce the number of games including preseason, add another bye week, limit hitting in practice... Anything to reduce exposure and allow healing.

-Mandatory Mark Kelso type helmets:

Yeah I don't even think the first option is worth mentioning (no offense of course, as you said it's not likely). The changes they've been making recently have come with a lot of criticism and many have the direct or indirect effect of making the game safer (depends on if you believe the conspiracy theorists or not... I'm on the fence).

I think the number of games is more realistic but I'm pretty sure that's out too since they're now talking about ADDING games. I also don't know how much that would help since this would be a problem that could occur with any individual hit as well as multiple hits.

Also maybe have weight limits on players???

I don't know what they are saying are the main contributors to this problem... But some of the linemen in today's game, when compared to years past, are just absurd.

I actually think this could do a lot of good for the game, even though it'd put a lot of people out of jobs. The problem here is we're talking about a WR right now. I'm sure any issues he's had didn't come from the guys on the line, but guys that would surely fall under whatever weight limit they'd think of.

I also don't know about the helmet idea. Just a guess, but I would think the whiplash effect and shots to the chin can't be protected with a new helmet without losing a ton of mobility and visibility.

[VanCitySportsGuy]

Re: Chris Henry found to have had brain damage.

I think it's scary they found brain damage in a young WR. While this should be a red flag for the NFL and its player, I don't see any major changes.

There are big incentives for players to play through concussions. If ypu're a bubble player, you're not likely to tell your coaches because you might get cut/lose your place on the roster. There's also peer pressue of not wanting to be labelled as "soft".

There's not much you can do to prevent head injuries in contact football.

[SPTO]

Re: Chris Henry found to have had brain damage.

I think what the NFL needs to do is officially use the helmets being used in college which measures the impact on the brain and such during games. There are things such as micro concussions and these helmets would go a long way towards making the medical staffs on teams telling coaches that they have to take out a player during a game etc etc.

I also think some modification on hitting should be applied as well as 25 years ago you saw guys actually TACKLING rather then hurling each other at an ungodly speed.

[Shawnj86]

Re: Chris Henry found to have had brain damage.

Wow
I saw it on espn but I had to leave for work