Former Wisconsin Badgers LB Chris Borland retires from NFL | FOX Sports People wonder why the NFL is calling games so tight with head hits. This is a long term threat to the game as we know it IMO. SAN FRANCISCO -- Another star member of San Francisco's vaunted defense is calling it a career. The 49ers announced late Monday that linebacker Chris Borland is retiring after one season, without offering specifics. Borland told ESPN's "Outside the Lines" earlier Monday that he is retiring following his standout rookie season because of concerns about head trauma. "While unexpected, we certainly respect Chris' decision," 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said. "From speaking with Chris, it was evident that he had put a great deal of thought into this decision. He was a consummate professional from day one and a very well-respected member of our team and community. "Chris is a determined young man that overcame long odds in his journey to the NFL and we are confident he will use the same approach to become very successful in his future endeavors. We will always consider him a 49er and wish him all the best." The 24-year-old Borland had a team-leading 108 tackles in his stellar rookie season, emerging as a punishing defender. He also had a sack and two interceptions. He told "Outside the Lines" on Monday he wants to do "what's best for my health." "From what I've researched and what I've experienced, I don't think it's worth the risk," he said in that interview. "I feel largely the same, as sharp as I've ever been. For me, it's wanting to be proactive," Borland said. "I'm concerned that if you wait till you have symptoms, it's too late."
I saw this earlier today. The concussion thing in the NFL is a huge issue, but I don't think it rests squarely on the NFL. I think coaches and players need to be held more accountable too. Too often, coaches gloss over the concussion test, or players try to get out of it by hiding symptoms.
I read where he got a concussion during training camp and he kept practicing because he was afraid he would not have made the team if he didn't.
The two things I've noticed is that players wear loose fitting helmets and don't tighten their chin straps properly. Most of the reason they get a concussion is because their head bounces around in the helmet when they get hit or hit the ground which if it were properly padded, tight, and chin strap was properly tightened it would dramatically help prevent so many concussions. When I played football I almost needed help to remove my helmet. I had to pull the ear holes apart and lift but now you see guys use one hand on the mask and slide it off with ease. That's a lot of the problem.
If you think 1/3 of all NFL players ending up with some form of dementia is being soft. lol Retired NFL players have a lowered life expectancy and the majority suffer through a very painful and crippled up retirement. I think the kid is brilliant for putting his life in perspective. There is a lot more to living than being a jock with a big contract.
I'm very familiar with Chris Borland since he played at Wisconsin. He is a damn sharp kid. Grounded. Humble. Good guy. I bet he is glad he got his degree from UW now instead on counting on playing football. Whatever he does with his life I suspect he will succeed.
If he's got better options, then good for him, but I'm not really too concerned about former NFL players lowered life expectancy. There are many other professions that have the same affects on people. NFL football players are compensated extremely well for what they do, much more so than other people the have careers in fields that are just as dangerous and damaging to their bodies. I'm also not 100% sold on the findings of the studies attributing everything to brain trauma caused by football injuries. There are plenty of former NFL players that are living very healthy and fulfilling lives after football.
I have no problem with people not wanting to play because of it, he's free to play or retire as he chooses. I think it's humbling of him not to look at the money and think about the other things he can/wants to do in life. But, I still think many concussions and head related injuries could be avoided if they wore proper fitting equipment.
Back in my day we hit each other upside the head with a bat just for fun! Softies these days... I tell ya.
It took about 30 seconds to find this. Pretty high price to pay. And that study doesn't include the many guys that got broken trying to make it into the NFL. I personally know one. He is a mess and has been since he got broken in training camp at the ripe old age of 22. He suffers daily and has nothing to show for it. This from a Washington Post article: Few professions leave their work force with such lasting bruises and scars. The NFL and the league’s Player Care Foundation, an independent charitable organization, sponsored a study at the University of Michigan in 2009 that surveyed 1,063 former players. About eight in 10 reported suffering from pain that lasts most of the day. Among younger retirees, aged 30 to 49, one in three said he was unable to work or limited in work. And almost 30 percent of them rated their health as only “fair” or “poor.” Ten percent of those under 65 in the Michigan survey needed surgery they could not afford, 16 percent needed dental care they couldn’t pay for and 8 percent could not afford prescription medicine
I'll be the first to say I am soft and do not want either of my boys playing competitive football past high school.
He's a genius. (1) Get college paid for. (2) Make a million. (3) Start a career or business. (4) Live healthy.
When my son was deciding on colleges he turned down an opportunity to play, I will admit I was a little disappointed at first. He was smart about it and his logic was that he loved the game but he wanted to not do any further damage. He played 12 years without getting a concussion.
I don't have a problem at all with his decision. His body, his career, his life, his choice. Football, or really any professional sport, is tough physically and most professional athletes end their careers with some phyisical limitations that they carry with them for life. His decision whether he wants to do it or not.
It's not the concussions that are causing CTE, it's the sub concussion blows. There was a study where they put sensors in kids helmet. They took about 60 sub concussive blows on average. Go bang your head 60 times on a desk and let me know how you feel. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
