“It’s all about the money.”

“Those players knew what they were getting themselves into.”

“They aren’t even hurt.”

                Like it or not, we hear these phrases all the time. Because we hear it so often, all of our efforts to push education and prevent brain trauma seem to be a lost cause. However, we know the truth, and the truth needs to be told.

“It’s all about the money.” – People often say this believing that football players from back in the day made a substantial amount of money, just like many of the players do today. This is just not the case. In the year of 1969, a football player’s salary on average was around $25,000. Played a year or two, and they basically had no money to their name. Yes, they had fame, people knew who they were, but every day they put their own bodies at risk for America’s entertainment. This now brings me to my next point: “Those players knew what they were getting themselves into.” It is true, football players know that they may get a bruise or broken arm, but they sure did not know that their brains were at risk. Although the National Football League had known about the effects of continuous blows to the head in 1933, they said nothing. They made money off of their employees without telling them the risks, and because of this, hundreds of players now have some sort of brain trauma, some sort of cognitive impairment that affects their daily lives.

“They aren’t even hurt.” Well we wish that were true. We wish that there was no such thing as brain damage, or at the very least the NFL would have disclosed the risk. But there is, and that didn’t happen. There are men who have committed suicide, families without their husbands or fathers, men who have depression, anger issues, unable to sleep or remember where their own house is. And that is just the tip of the ice burg. Every day we talk with these players, and every day we see the devastation the NFL has caused. At the end of the day, the NFL owed a duty to it’s players for their on the field injuries, and they should not be a burden on our taxpayers. Still skeptical? Don’t take my word for it. Do the research yourself, and you will discover the tragedy of brain trauma.

If you or someone you know has experienced a head injury, call today to see how we can help. We not only advocate, but we care.