I never thought I would ever question my love of football but after watching this program last night, I am now. The instances of CTE - Concussive Traumatic Encephalopathy in the brains of former football players as young as 18 years of age, is not to be taken lightly considering the appalling effects of the disease on the players and their families.
There is as yet no way of determining whether or not a player will succumb to the disease but the instances of it having been found in the brains of over 80 former NFL players is without question. How many others there may be walking around with this potential time bomb ticking away in their head will only be answered after their deaths and if their brains are then scanned for the disease.
Matt Dunigan has become an outspoken proponent of CTE research having suffered multiple concussions during his career and is admittedly dealing with the long terms effects on a daily basis. Mark Cohon - our CFL commish - has also taken a proactive approach to traumatic head injuries instituting new rules designed to protect players, fines and/or suspensions to players stepping over the line and a program of continuing education about concussions.
This is a timely topic considering that the Edmonton Eskimos chose to put Mike Reilly back in as starter last week only a few days after he suffered a concussion and, they have stated they will also have Mike back for the game against the Riders this weekend. That decision is in sharp contrast to how the Montreal Alouettes chose to deal with their star QB Anthony Calvillo after he suffered a concussion early this year. Anthony is still sidelined and will not be coming back until he is completely symptom free.
When it comes to something as important as quality of life after one's playing days are over, every team in our league should at the very least err on the side of caution. In my estimation, Mike Reilly should still be on the injured list. Edmonton's chances of winning a play-off spot are all but dashed - they would have to win every game and have Montreal lose everyone of theirs in order to do so. Playing Mike Reilly in those circumstances does not appear to be a very well though out decision by the team or Mike himself.
There is as yet no way of determining whether or not a player will succumb to the disease but the instances of it having been found in the brains of over 80 former NFL players is without question. How many others there may be walking around with this potential time bomb ticking away in their head will only be answered after their deaths and if their brains are then scanned for the disease.
Matt Dunigan has become an outspoken proponent of CTE research having suffered multiple concussions during his career and is admittedly dealing with the long terms effects on a daily basis. Mark Cohon - our CFL commish - has also taken a proactive approach to traumatic head injuries instituting new rules designed to protect players, fines and/or suspensions to players stepping over the line and a program of continuing education about concussions.
This is a timely topic considering that the Edmonton Eskimos chose to put Mike Reilly back in as starter last week only a few days after he suffered a concussion and, they have stated they will also have Mike back for the game against the Riders this weekend. That decision is in sharp contrast to how the Montreal Alouettes chose to deal with their star QB Anthony Calvillo after he suffered a concussion early this year. Anthony is still sidelined and will not be coming back until he is completely symptom free.
When it comes to something as important as quality of life after one's playing days are over, every team in our league should at the very least err on the side of caution. In my estimation, Mike Reilly should still be on the injured list. Edmonton's chances of winning a play-off spot are all but dashed - they would have to win every game and have Montreal lose everyone of theirs in order to do so. Playing Mike Reilly in those circumstances does not appear to be a very well though out decision by the team or Mike himself.