Dave Pear's Blog

Football damaged my brain and it didn’t have to happen

GEORGE VISGER, a former 49er, tells his story
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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:
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Turning pro

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Author Irv Muchnick has been covering the big picture on concussions in sports and its broader effects on society in general. In following up with our most recent posts and debates with insiders from the NFLPA on their role in Disability Benefits – or lack thereof – we’re presenting three of Irv’s current posts.
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Posted with the express consent of Irv Muchnick:
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Sports Concussion Crisis a Culture-Wide Problem – Maybe a Post-Ideological One, Too

August 8‚ 2011
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by Irvin Muchnick
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Writing in The Nation’s special August 15-22 sports issue, currently on newsstands, recently retired Denver Broncos wide receiver turned social critic Nate Jackson reflects on the football concussion crisis. Jackson is short on specifics and long on the banal (“But at what price comes the glory?”). Jackson also makes regrettable separation from the essential theme: traumatic brain injuries are not the same as blown-out knees; the National Football League’s commerce-first values inculcate amateur sports, as well; and the depth and breadth of the resulting societal fallout far exceed the public’s current perception.
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This is your Disability Board. This is your Disability Board at work.
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Former Seattle Seahawk Sam McCullum has declared himself as Dave Duerson’s replacement on the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle Disability Board. And he’s not shy to talk about it. McCullum’s been sending out his thoughts on disability and entitlement to the local chapter of the NFLPA and it’s inflamed (a mild way to put it!) a lot of retirees to say the least. Here are some clips from his latest e-mails (EDITOR’S NOTE: our highlights in RED):
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“I can tell you this that the NFLPA and the league were in negotiations yesterday to finalize a number of open issues. I spoke to the folks about the benefits that are still pending, and was told I would learn a lot more at the meeting I will attending starting Wednesday. So time permitting I will send out an update on Friday.
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And a little Friday humor to kick the weekend off:
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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Gets Pranked By Seattle Seahawks Raheem Brock And Chester Pitts

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In a bid to end the lockout, Seattle Seahawks Raheem Brock and Chester Pitts take their talents from the field to the phone with a prank call to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Expect Barack Obama impersonations and ‘gajillion’ dollar requests to aid in their mission.
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Wow! Is it just us or did January whiz right by and now we’re already heading into February and the Superbowl? Here’s a roundup of some items to close off the month.

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