Chris Borland — a San Francisco 49ers linebacker and a promising rookie — has decided to retire at the age of 24 due to concerns regarding the long-term effects of repetitive head trauma, according to an ESPN report.
The risks associated with repetitive head trauma have become an area of increasing interest among the healthcare community, particularly so for organizations who are prioritizing population health.
For instance, Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Center for Telehealth and Dartmouth's Department of Athletics and Recreation decided to have a telemedicine robot present at every home football game, the Cleveland Clinic Concussion Center developed an app to identify concussions and new legislation was proposed in New York City that would require all youth tackle football games played in the city to have a physician present on the sidelines.
Just this February, Elizabeth G. Nabel, MD, president of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, was named the NFL's first chief medical adviser to provide strategic advice to the NFL commissioner and other top officials as they work to implement medical and scientific programs that improve player safety and treatment.
Mr. Borland — a third-round draft pick from the University of Wisconsin — was expected to be a key part of the 49ers' defense and was scheduled to make roughly $540,000 this season, according to the ESPN report.
Despite his recent success, Mr. Borland became the most prominent NFL player to leave the game due to concerns about brain injuries.
"I've thought about what I could accomplish in football, but for me, personally, when you read about Mike Webster and Dave Duerson and Ray Easterling, you read all these stories, and to be the type of player I want to be in football, I think I'd have to take on some risks that, as a person, I don't want to take on," Mr. Borland told ESPN.
Mr. Webster, Mr. Duerson and Mr. Easterling are three out of more than 70 former NFL players who were diagnosed postmortem with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a progressive neurological disease associated with football, brain damage and issues such as depression and memory loss.
More articles on concussions:
Brigham and Women's Hospital president to advise NFL on medical issues
Cleveland Clinic physician develops app to detect concussions
New York City considers legislation to require a physician at youth football games