The malady NFL players often suffer - CTE (v1.0)

Reprinted here from Wikipedia for your convenience. 

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) has been found in 345 of 376 former NFL players' brains, according to a 2023 report by the Boston University CTE Center, which has led the effort to diagnose CTE cases. In comparison, a 2018 BU study of the general population found one CTE case in 164 autopsies, and that one person with CTE had played college football. The NFL acknowledged a link between playing American football and being diagnosed with CTE in 2016, after denying such a link for over a decade and arguing that players' symptoms had other causes.

While much attention in the NFL has focused on limiting or treating concussions, the latest medical research indicates that the brain damage in CTE is from the cumulative impact of all collisions involving a player's head, which confirms what was generally known nearly a century ago but was then largely forgotten. The NFL has implemented rule changes to reduce collisions to the head and has sought to improve helmet design. Critics respond that significant head trauma is inevitable for bigger, faster players in tackle football and that helmets are of limited use in preventing a player's brain from crashing into their skull, which is the cause of the brain damage that leads to CTE.

As more parents (including some NFL players) decide not to let their children play football, it remains to be seen whether football will eventually face a significant decline in popularity like boxing, which fell from prominence as the brain damage suffered by ex-boxers drew more public attention. Football is currently the most-watched sport in the U.S. by a substantial margin while basketball is the most-played sport.

Although the symptoms of CTE can vary, it doesn't directly cause death but instead changes personality and behavior, making a person not feel like themselves anymore. Players with CTE can become isolated from their friends. Sometimes they become unable to tell a story, carry on a conversation, or recognize their loved ones. One former player later found to have CTE described having headaches that felt like ice picks hitting his brain.

Some former players with CTE suffer from memory loss and depression. Some players and those around them deal with their violent mood swings, rage, and paranoia. In some cases, damage to players' brains contributes to severe alcoholism leading to death. Two former NFL man of the year winners suffering from CTE symptoms shot themselves in the chest so their brains could be studied for the damage inflicted by football.

Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL All-Pro Bo Jackson said in a 2017 interview with USA Today that if he had known about the risks associated with CTE, he would never have played football, and he discourages his children from doing so. In late 2017, former Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson reported having symptoms akin to Aaron Hernandez, including memory blanks, suicidal thoughts and thoughts of committing violent acts. Although there is no way to positively diagnose CTE before death, Johnson believes he is living with the disease.

Each year of playing tackle football increases a player's risk of developing CTE by 30 percent. Family members and friends frequently struggle to try and provide care for former players with CTE.

Is American football really a sport humans should be playing?