The Reason NFL Players Play Despite The Risk of CTE

According to a study done by the British Medical Journal, NFL players are 260% more likely to commit suicide than NBA or MLB athletes. This is further demonstrated when a study discovered that a group of players who believed they had CTE were five times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than those who believed they did not have CTE. This raised the question: ‘Why do NFL athletes keep playing despite the risk?’ Well, to understand this, we have to learn about what CTE is.

CTE stands for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy; it is a brain disease caused by repeated blunt force trauma to the head. The main reason it's so notorious and dangerous is that it causes the death of nerve cells in the brain, which is an occurrence called degeneration. Though heavily researched and studied, the only concrete way to know if someone truly is suffering from CTE is by viewing an autopsy of their brain. This is a factor as to why the illness isn’t fully understood. Scientists firmly believe it is caused by multiple head injuries, not just one stand-alone affliction. Furthermore, the illness is believed to have a direct link to second-impact syndrome, which is when another head injury occurs before a previous one was properly dealt with. CTE is most often found in occupations with the most physical contact: military combat and contact sports. Symptoms include, but are not limited to, difficulty expressing emotion, physical distress, and other minor impacts on day-to-day behavior. Symptoms aren't immediate; they take decades to develop after repeated head trauma. Unfortunately, despite researchers developing a possible test, there is currently no way to test for CTE, and there is no known cure. The illness knows no bounds; it has been found in youth players who died playing amateur contact sports. Though CTE is likely from repeated contact to the head, it's not the guaranteed cause. According to Mayo Clinic, studies have shown no increased incidence of CTE in people exposed to repeated head injuries. Now that we have a background in the disease, let's explore why NFL athletes continue to play despite the apparent risk.

CTE has become normalized amongst NFL players. According to interviews with an estimated 30 players, it's used as a sort of dark humor in casual conversation. Additionally, in an ESPN interview, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson remarked, “How cool would it be to leave a legacy that generations of my family, the Wilson legacy, will talk about? And if CTE is a consequence of that, then so be it. But I also could sleep good at night knowing that I was the one person in the Wilson family that ended up changing our financial, socioeconomic class, like you can point it back to me and say, 'Michael's the one that did it.' So for my kids' kids' kids' kids, they can always look at me, and if CTE is a consequence of that, then I'm willing to bet on myself that hopefully I won't get it, but if I do, then I made a decision, and I chose that.” Based on this quote, we can infer that NFL athletes are aware of the risk of CTE, but if being in a position like this benefits their family, they’re willing to risk their own health for their family and passions that they love.