Football damaged my brain and it didn’t have to happen
GEORGE VISGER, a former 49er, tells his story . Due to the size and speed of today’s football players, the kinetic energy they generate during hits can have long-term consequences. Here’s my story: .
My football career began at age 11 in 1970 when I suited up for the West Stockton Bear Cubs, the first Pee Wee Pop Warner team fielded in Stockton, Calif. Of the 29 kids on the team, three went on to sign NFL contracts in 1980 (myself — sixth round, New York Jets; Jack Cosgrove — eighth round, Seattle Seahawks; Pat Bowe — free agent, Green Bay Packers). .
During my third year of Pop Warner, I was hospitalized when I knocked myself unconscious during a tackling drill. The exercise was a needless bull-in-the-ring drill that was more of a gladiator competition for the coaches’ amusement than a means of teaching useful techniques to young players. .
The coaches had us form a big circle about 25 yards across and numbered the 40 of us 1 to 20 on each side. When your number was called, you and the player on the other side with the same number sprinted directly at each other and hit head-to-head. .
Concussions followed throughout my high school career, though I never missed a game or practice. In my senior year, we went 11-0 and ranked No. 3 in California. I was selected to the All-America Top 100 Team. .
I entered the University of Colorado on a football scholarship in 1976 as a 6-foot, 5-inch 235-pound defensive tackle, majoring in biology. I was a starter for three years and suffered a number of minor concussions, but I never missed a play except after leg injuries. .
EDITOR’S NOTE:George Visger caught up with me on the phone this morning just before arriving at a job site. George is back at work trying hard to help his family recover from losing their home after suffering another near-fatal brain shunt failure last October. George is one of the most remarkably intelligent and resilient guys I’ve ever met and his tenacity comes through in everything he does. I often talk to him about what might have happened with his life had he never played professional football and sustained his life-altering brain damage. He starts off with an answer to John Hogan’s earlier post (click HERE to read John Hogan’s comment). .
From TheUnion.com: George Visger, a Grass Valley resident, shows his 1981 San Francisco 49ers team photo and Super Bowl ring. Visger has undergone nine brain surgeries since he stepped off the football field for the final time.
Posted with the express consent of Irv Muchnick: .
Football Media, Courts Still Not Tackling Lesson of Dave Duerson Suicide
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by Irvin Muchnick‚ Aug. 19‚ 2011 . Six months after Dave Duerson put a bullet through his own chest, the annual national brain trauma toll mounts again, from the National Football League all the way down to the peewees. Meanwhile, the mentally flabby sports media continue putting out the same sugar-coated message: that we should become more “aware” about concussions, and that pro football players should emulate Duerson by donating their brains for research – as if Duerson – who spent his late life denying others’ claims of concussion syndrome – personally invented Chronic Traumatic Encephelopathy (CTE). . Here’s a better idea: Next month, in federal court in Maryland, there will be a pretrial hearing in a case against the NFL retirement plan by Andrew Stewart, who played linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers and two other teams from 1989 to 1993, and whose application for increased disability benefits had been rejected. Stewart’s lawyer wants the court to examine the work of Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Players Retirement Plan’s (EDITOR’S NOTE:Corrected from the original post) joint owner/players’ union Board of Trustees – which included Duerson. . Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com, who is doing as good a job as any mainstream journalist on the concussion story’s off-the-field aspects, broke the Stewart lawsuit development (ClickHERE to read his post). . continue reading »
Posted with the express consent of Evan Weiner: THE BUSINESS AND POLITICS OF SPORTS . Two decades later, sports is out of whack
Tuesday, 3 May 2011 BY EVAN WEINER NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM . About two decades ago, a tall man with an identifiable nasal twang was holding court at Gallagher’s Steak House one afternoon as he lifted a martini with a shaking hand to his mouth. The septuagenarian with a bad wig was standing near the slabs of meat that were hanging at the steak house and in a crescendo was complaining about the world of sports. The empty room began filling up as the man droned. . “Sports is out of whack,” said the man with the familiar voice in a loudish way as he fumbled to take a sip of his martini. He was disgusted with the industry that he first entered in the 1950s as Willie Mays’ advisor. . Last week was yet another week of vindication for the man who was despised by sportswriters for telling it like it is. . The three — make that about five — events of the week of April 25-April 30, had nothing to do with actual games. There was the draft in a locked-out-then-open-for-business-then-locked-out National Football League. . There was Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson moving as much earth as he could to try and keep the city’s National Basketball Association team in team in town despite the fact that the unemployment level had hit 12 percent in his region. At the same time he was rounding up $10 million in marketing partnership for the owners of the NBA Kings, the Maloof brothers, Johnson was cutting workers at the city’s police and fire departments and school administrators were trying to figure out whether they can keep sports going in Sacramento public schools. . continue reading »
Posted with the express consent of Evan Weiner: THE BUSINESS AND POLITICS OF SPORTS .
Why are NFL owners really locking out the players?
Tuesday, 26 April 2011 BY EVAN WEINER NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM . The National Football League has been pretending that all is well in the land of the 32 franchises and the league’s more than 1,600 employees. Teams are conducting cheerleader tryouts. The league released the 2011 pre-season schedule, then came the regular season schedule announcement and the exciting month of NFL football reaches a climax with three days worth of what is essentially a major restraint of trade, the college draft. That exercise, which starts on Thursday, is made legal thanks to the 2006 National Football League-National Football League Players Association collective bargaining agreement which gives the NFL the right to offer college players a chance to join the players ranks through that mechanism even though the college players have no say in the 2006 agreement. .
So all is wonderful in the land of the NFL except for one minor detail: NFL owners have locked out the employees who perform on the field — the players and no new negotiations on the collective bargaining agreement are scheduled until May 16 after a flurry of court decisions will be made on the legality of the lockout and whether the owners can use TV monies from 2011 rights from FOX, NBC, CBS, Disney’s ESPN and DirecTV for football operations even if there is no product. .
The lockout was lifted by a Minnesota judge on Monday afternoon; the NFL will appeal the ruling which means both sides are back to the bargaining table with no rules for business for 2011. It could be that 2010 rules apply which is not necessarily good for either side. Players will have to wait six years, not four for free agency and the owners have no salary cap to control players costs. . continue reading »
We’re continuing to see more mainstream media stories on the life of retired football players with an emphasis on the long-term damages of untreated concussions and career injuries. It seems the LA Times has been all over many of the issues that directly affect the retired players. We’ll start off a piece from Bill Dwyre on 49ers Hall-of-Famer Ronnie Lott. . .
As many of you following this blog may already know, I developed hydrocephalus – or water on the brain – from repeated brain trauma while playing DT with the SF 49ers during the 1981 Super Bowl season. After undergoing emergency VP Shunt brain surgery during the season, I am now on brain surgery #9 thirty years later. In addition to the brain surgeries, I developed gran mal seizures and am currently on my sixth different anti-seizure medicine. .
During the course of my last 30 years dealing with hydrocephalus and other serious side effects from my short NFL “career”, I have acquired a toolbox of coping mechanisms which allow me to survive as normally as possible. Unfortunately I still don’t follow my own advice as much as I should. .
Let’s look at the side effects and potential treatments for dealing with traumatic brain injuries: .
Short term memory loss – most of us can vividly remember events from high school, but can’t remember what we did yesterday. Get in the habit of carrying a notebook or recorder in your vehicle. Log everything you can in any way you can. Some techniques may work better than others. I have used Dictaphones with some success but I’m technologically challenged. A Write-in-the-Rain, waterproof notebook and pen work best for me. Get in the habit of reading the prior week or two’s notes every couple days. After reading the same notes 2 -3 times, your brain will begin storing information more readily..
Anger management issues – you may think you deal with life’s daily stresses normally, but ask those around you how you function. Especially family members, friends and business relationships you trust. Many times when the wives bring these issues up, we immediately dismiss them. DON”T. If you hear the same issues being reiterated to you over and over from different people, act on it. DON’T dismiss what you are hearing as coming from people who don’t know how to “suck it up”. After a while those you are hurting the most will distance themselves from you. THINK before you speak. I have found the hard way, once words are released, you can never take them back.
Poor judgment – damage to frontal cortex and other areas of the brain will impede your ability to use good judgment. Take extra time to think things out before acting. Sometimes that means rethinking your responses a second time a day or so later..
Loss of direction – many of us will find ourselves having trouble finding our vehicles when we exit stores, turning the wrong way when leaving parking lots, or even having trouble remembering how to get home. Again, take time to think things out before acting. Football teaches us to react immediately to situations we find ourselves in. Unfortunately, that response doesn’t work well when you have memory deficits. It’s tough for us but slow things down..
Financial and business problems – it is very hard to maintain a functioning business when you are dealing with all of the above symptoms. Whenever possible, be up front with business associates regarding your memory issues. I am forced to write down everything that goes on in my daily life, including each phone call. Business associates of mine are conditioned to ask “Do you have your notebook handy,” whenever they call. One thing I have learned by writing things down is no one remembers like they think they do..
Insomnia – when you have a traumatic brain injury, many times the neurons become inflamed. When this occurs you can’t shut things off at night and your mind races when you should be sleeping. Look into taking Melatonin a couple hours before going to bed. I take 3 -4 tablets at night.
George Visger, 52, earned the ultimate prize in professional football: a championship with the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XVI in 1982. The former defensive tackle also bagged an Orange Bowl victory while playing with the University of Colorado. .
But now he’s paying the ultimate price for all those years on the gridiron. After thousands of on-field hits to his head, hydrocephalus, and multiple brain surgeries, he is struggling with memory problems. And he receives absolutely NO benefits whatsoever – pension or disability – from the NFL in spite of his Super Bowl ring because he doesn’t meet their arbitrary 3-year vesting rule! .
George is currently an environmental consultant in California. . Dan Bunz is a former American Football linebacker who played for the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions in an eight-year career that lasted from 1978 to 1985 in the National Football League. .
As a linebacker for the 49ers in Super Bowl XVI, he made one of the most famous defensive tackles ever witnessed. On a critical 3rd-and-goal from the one-yard line, Anderson passed to Charles Alexander in the right flat, but Bunz came up fast, grabbed the receiver around the waist, and hurled him backward before he could break the plane of the goal line. “The Stop” is regarded as “The Best Thing Witnessed On TV Ever.” He was a member of the San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl XVI and Super Bowl XIX winning teams. .
Dan currently teaches Physical Education at Sutter Middle School in Sacramento. He also teaches people of all ages in being healthy and fit. .
Here are George and Dan telling the audience about the reality of their lives after football with an emphasis on the long-term effects of concussions and the failed disability process and system that the NFL and the NFLPA continue to impose on its retired employees. .
EDITOR’S NOTE: Many of you have been following our friend, George Visger’s recent brain shunt emergency this past weekend. The good news is that George made a strong recovery from this recent episode and we’re posting more details that have just come in from George below. As gory and complex as some of it may sound, most people generally know little about these procedures which actually happen more frequently than get reported. The Washington Post ran another series recently on brain injuries in sports and provided detailed information and graphics on hydrocephalus (water on the brain) and the shunt surgery that’s used to alleviate the problem.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The day we lose empathy and compassion for our fellow man is the day we cease to be human.
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Our good friend and retired football veteran, George Visger, sent the following note out last night after 7:00 pm just before his wife, Kristi, took him to the hospital. Calls to his phone numbers have been unanswered so far and we’re asking everyone to send their thoughts and prayers to George and his family.
NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith did not show up this morning for a one-day Sports Law Symposium at Santa Clara Law (click HERE to see today’s schedule)at which he was to participate on a concussions panel. The panel was focused on Athletic, Legal, Medical and Moral Issues of concussions. Other members on the panel included Disability Attorney John Hogan, Craig de Recat (partner with Manatt Phelps & Philips, lead attorneys – Players Inc. GLA lawsuit), New York Times journalist Alan Schwarz, Jim Brown (NFL Hall of Fame), Michael Dillingham (former team doctor – San Francisco 49ers) and Ben Lynch (retired NFL player and advocate). Everyone else showed up.
Fellow independent retired 49′er, George Visger, recently sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith. He was kind enough to share his letter with all of us. George has managed to continue his ongoing battle with the NFL and the NFLPA for recognition and fair treatment of all retired football players despite his personal struggles from football-related brain damage and the subsequent brain surgeries he’s had to endure over the past 20+ years. George’s case is another perfect example of how the NFL stacks the deck against the players when it comes to disability and pensions after football. They know the average career is 3 years or less so they set the standard for qualification at 4+ years. Even at WalMart, an employee qualifies for FULL benefits after a 90-day probationary period. And you can be damn sure if you hurt yourself on the job on your second day of work, you’d be qualified for Workers Compensation benefits with little objection. Only in one of the most lucrative and physical professional sports do they set the standard so impossibly high for its employees. When will we actually see our Union step up for its retired players?
Due to the size and speed of today’s football players, the kinetic energy they generate during hits can have long-term consequences. Here’s my story:
About two decades ago, a tall man with an identifiable nasal twang was holding court at Gallagher’s Steak House one afternoon as he lifted a martini with a shaking hand to his mouth. The septuagenarian with a bad wig was standing near the slabs of meat that were hanging at the steak house and in a crescendo was complaining about the world of sports. The empty room began filling up as the man droned.
The National Football League has been pretending that all is well in the land of the 32 franchises and the league’s more than 1,600 employees. Teams are conducting cheerleader tryouts. The league released the 2011 pre-season schedule, then came the regular season schedule announcement and the exciting month of NFL football reaches a climax with three days worth of what is essentially a major restraint of trade, the college draft. That exercise, which starts on Thursday, is made legal thanks to the 2006 National Football League-National Football League Players Association collective bargaining agreement which gives the NFL the right to offer college players a chance to join the players ranks through that mechanism even though the college players have no say in the 2006 agreement.
As many of you following this blog may already know, I developed hydrocephalus – or water on the brain – from repeated brain trauma while playing DT with the SF 49ers during the 1981 Super Bowl season. After undergoing emergency VP Shunt brain surgery during the season, I am now on brain surgery #9 
George Visger, 52, earned the ultimate prize in professional football: a championship with the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XVI in 1982. The former defensive tackle also bagged an Orange Bowl victory while playing with the University of Colorado.
Dan Bunz is a former American Football linebacker who played for the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions in an eight-year career that lasted from 1978 to 1985 in the National Football League.
Dear Congresswoman Sanchez: