Football: Organized, Voluntary Brain Damage

There's an excellent article in Sunday's Post-Gazette titled, "A career of concussions: Football damaged my brain and it didn't have to happen", by George Visger, a former San Francisco 49er (1980, 1981).

Mr. Visger, who has had nine brain surgeries attributed to his 13 years of football experience¹, has written an open letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith. He also contributes to discussions about football injuries.

Money quote from the Post-Gazette article: "It's time we realize the human brain was not meant to be used as a weapon or repeatedly banged into the ground."

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¹ Seems significant that Mr. Visger calculates his time of damaging behavior as "13 years of football", starting from his 11-year-old Pee Wee Pop Warner experience (and his first of many concussions) and ending with his two seasons of professional football.