Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a degenerative disease of the brain, caused by repeated head traumas often caused by concussions. This disease can affect different parts of the brain, and often affects memory, influences mood swings which can lead to violent tendencies. The disease can only be diagnosed by examining brain tissue after death, so it is not diagnosable while the affected are living. An example of this disease affecting someone’s life is Aaron Hernandez. Aaron Hernandez was a talented tight end for New England Patriots and played nearly 100 games throughout high school, college, and NFL. At age 23 he was convicted of murder, and at age 27 he took his own life. When doctors examined his brain tissue they found one of the worst cases of CTE ever recorded. His CTE surely did not cause his actions but his symptoms may have influenced him to do what he did. CTE is a dangerous and possibly lethal disease and affects thousands of athletes every year. In a study done examining the brains of 202 deceased football players, the study revealed 171 or 88% of the players had some form of CTE and 110/111 of the NFL players, furthermore, 95/111 had a severe case of CTE. This study shows how greatly this disease affects football players and how the longer they play the worse and more common it gets. If CTE is caused by multiple concussions and high school players are more likely to sustain a bad concussion it makes no sense that teens should play football in high
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a degenerative disease of the brain, caused by repeated head traumas often caused by concussions. This disease can affect different parts of the brain, and often affects memory, influences mood swings which can lead to violent tendencies. The disease can only be diagnosed by examining brain tissue after death, so it is not diagnosable while the affected are living. An example of this disease affecting someone’s life is Aaron Hernandez. Aaron Hernandez was a talented tight end for New England Patriots and played nearly 100 games throughout high school, college, and NFL. At age 23 he was convicted of murder, and at age 27 he took his own life. When doctors examined his brain tissue they found one of the worst cases of CTE ever recorded. His CTE surely did not cause his actions but his symptoms may have influenced him to do what he did. CTE is a dangerous and possibly lethal disease and affects thousands of athletes every year. In a study done examining the brains of 202 deceased football players, the study revealed 171 or 88% of the players had some form of CTE and 110/111 of the NFL players, furthermore, 95/111 had a severe case of CTE. This study shows how greatly this disease affects football players and how the longer they play the worse and more common it gets. If CTE is caused by multiple concussions and high school players are more likely to sustain a bad concussion it makes no sense that teens should play football in high