Long Term Effects of Sports

The game of football impacts many of the players for the long term. There have been many cases of suicides due to the effects that the sport has on the player. Just yesterday the Kansas City Chiefs linebacker, Jovan Belcher, killed his girlfriend and then shot himself in the head after. Football is pretty bad contact sport that can destroy your brain as you continue in the sport. In the past couple of years there have been professional sports players that have committed suicide and have had their brain undergo tests to see if there has been any damage. Dave Duerson and Junior Seau are two players that have recently took their life due to brain damage. The continuous hits on a players body can contribute to brain damage that can cause depression and other brain conditions. Mike Webster is an example of someone who was diagnosed with depression, dementia and amnesia even before retiring from the NFL. Even though I think the sport is still pretty rough I think after seeing so many examples the NFL organization stepped up their concussion policies. I think that being more strict on concussion policies it will better the lives of the players after they retire. No one wants to see someone lose their life over the effects of doing something they love, so being more strict about the concussion policies will be a positive rule for the future.