Opinion: Antonio Brown shouldn't return to football, he should instead focus on his brain and mental health
Submitted by editor on Thu, 01/06/2022 - 9:18am
I believe Antonio Brown is consciously doing the things he’s doing and should be held accountable no question…. but he has CTE in all likelihood. This has unfortunately aided in his antics off (and now on) the field. No, Antonio Brown should not be given another chance in the NFL (but most likely will) because of his antics. Instead, he should be focused on his brain and mental well-being.
Ever since the movie “Concussion” came out, I have done a lot of reading on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) which has been found to be a more than rampant disease found in retired and deceased NFL players. CTE can only be discovered after death at the moment.
Now, while CTE usually does not affect someone until years after play, it can certainly show itself much quicker. The article here will shed light on a 21 year-old, still active player in college, that committed suicide out of the blue and was later found to have CTE. So, point being, it is very possible that Brown has CTE and could be showing signs of it at the moment in the form of what I call “micro-outbursts.”
According to the BU Research CTE Center, the symptoms of CTE are: memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, anxiety, suicidality, parkinsonism, and, eventually, progressive dementia.
Now, hmm, wait a minute. Hold the phone. Impaired judgement? Impulse control problems? Interesting. Very interesting. *Paging Antonio Brown… Antonio Brown please report*
Some in the media want to gloss over this and call him a diva wide receiver that’s just doing this for attention. They are right! He is seeking attention, and consciously doing it…. but there seems to be an underlying issue here that could result in catastrophic events later (psssst…. CTE).
Again, I believe that Brown should be held fully accountable for his actions and should not return to the NFL but, to dismiss the notion that CTE could be a part of the problem or isn’t a reason, is exactly why so many athletes have lost their lives (and taking others with them in the process with some of the cases) and we must get out of that mindset immediately.
All of the cases have common denominators: Violent endings and abnormal behaviors beforehand. The key here is to recognize and try to harness the abnormal behaviors before they explode.
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association back in 2017, 99% (nope that’s not a typo) of deceased NFL players (110 out of 111 brains donated) were found with CTE. In layman’s terms…. that’s indisputable scientific evidence that this thing is real. Oh, and CTE was also found in not only found in college age players but high school aged players as well. Conclusion being? CTE doesn’t just show up after a person’s playing days are long gone. It varies by an individual’s brain and its ability to deal with hits.
Antonio Brown has taken some pretty viscous hits (two by Vontaze Burfict) while playing with the Steelers. He also takes hits to the head by virtue of the tackle and the ground every game he plays.
We have to get over the ignoring of CTE. How many more violent endings that cost lives are we going to let go? The warnings are there, heed them is my advice.
— Writer Chris Graham is the former sports editor for Carson Now. He's an avid sports fan, and writes occasional sports related columns for Carson Now.
