The NFL and CTE
"They believe he had a lot of concussion problems," Chronister told Q105-FM, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. "When you suffer from that, you're not yourself, you're not your normal self. And they believe wholeheartedly all of these actions are a result of what he suffered while he was playing in the NFL."
Jackson was found dead Monday at a Homewood Suites hotel in Brandon, Florida, where he had been checked in since Jan. 11.
His family reported him missing on Feb. 10 but the case was canceled two days later when deputies located him, spoke to him, and assessed his well-being.
Jackson, who was 38, played for the then-San Diego Chargers from 2005 to 2011 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2012 to 2016.
A number of late NFL stars, including Ken Stabler, Junior Seau, and Chris Henry, have been diagnosed with CTE postmortem. The disease is the result of repeated brain trauma and has no cure.
Chronister said an autopsy showed Jackson suffered from chronic alcoholism, but authorities are still determining a cause of death.
"It could be several weeks before we know what led to the untimely and tragic death of Vincent Jackson," the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said in a statement obtained by The Athletic's Greg Auman. "The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office continues to conduct a thorough investigation alongside the Hillsborough Country Sheriff's Office. Based on statements made by relatives of Jackson to detectives, his family had reason to believe he may have suffered from chronic alcoholism and concussions. However, the exact cause and manner of Mr. Jackson's death will not be certain until his autopsy, among other reports, is complete."
This sucks. The news that Vincent Jackson died was jarring. It’s probably because I am getting to the age where athletes and celebrities who I have nostalgic ties to are coming of the age where death is just a thing, but that wasn’t the case with Jackson. He was 38. I vividly remember him playing not long ago. It sucks that my first thought goes to CTE. I have a ton of questions surrounding it, but two big ones lay heavy.
What will the NFL do?
How much do they know and are not telling us or the players? I think that is a very fair question to ask based on the track record of piss poor management this league has displayed, outside of squeezing every possible dollar out of it at the expense of everyone except for who’s on top. We know that concussion protocol is a thing now, but come on. I watched Julian Edleman play in Super Bowls crossed eyed. And frankly I’m not totally on board with the “player safety” initiative. Mainly because I think it’s smoke, mirrors, and half assed bullshit from the league, but also these guys sign up for it. Plus, with the medical technology available and resources that the NFL has can we not have a reasonable treatment plan? Lets say there could be a healthy balance and lets say the League is attempting to find it. We’ll leave this discussion on the floor for now.
I am curious about the treatment however. Is the NFL just following the guidelines of say, the past several decades of medical practice and their big Pharma influencers? Are teams popping pills in these guy’s mouths and telling them it will all be okay then sending them off to the pasture once they retire? Why don’t you take 1 of those BILLIONS, ONE YEAR, and better the world with some science shit instead of lining the pockets of Bob Krafts “Masseuse”.
2.How does this affect the future of the game?
There is a lot of talk about football not being a sport at all in a generation, maybe two. Outside of a more likely scenario, like the world continuing to burn to ash, I don’t see football completely disappearing. It could continue to change and morph into a game that someone like a Tom Landry would not even recognize were he to be risen from the dead. (Do we have any prominent football stars with their head frozen like Ted Williams? *note. Google that shit).
I believe the future of the game rests purely on the NFL’s shoulders. They are the marquee sport in America, a 10 Billion industry, and the end all be all when it comes to the sport of football. And I understand that some, even a lot of this is out of their control. It is a violent game with some violent repercussions. But, can we really sit here and believe that the Fucking NFL is handling this situation as best the can? Let’s ask Junior Seau. Oh right..
RIP Vincent Jackson. Lets hope the family gets the answers they are owed and maybe this can help lead to future families not having to go through another unnecessary tragedy.
