Morris Claiborne is willing to risk his life despite the mounting research linking the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) to football. The veteran Jets cornerback has suffered three documented concussions over the past decade, but that hasn’t altered his view about playing the game that he loves.
“A lot of people don’t believe me when I say this,” Claiborne told the Daily News in a candid discussion about CTE and concussions. “But I would die out there on that football field. This is my life. This is what I do. I give it all. I would die out there.”
“If I was concussed that bad where they said you can’t go back out there or you’ll potentially lose your life, I gotta go,” he added. “I gotta go play. I gotta go play.”
A recent study by the VA Boston Healthcare System and Boston University School of Medicine revealed that 110 of 111 brains of deceased NFL players had varying levels of CTE.
Although commissioner Roger Goodell admitted at a fan forum at the Jets facility Monday that “Everyone agrees there are an awful lot more questions than answers at this point” regarding the growing head trauma conversation, some players can’t divorce their love for the game from potential damage later in life.
“Literally, if I had a perfect place to die,” Jets safety Jamal Adams said at the fan forum panel discussion Monday, “I would die on the field.”
The 27-year-old Claiborne admitted that many people might disagree with his position given all the dangers associated with such a violent sport, but was adamant that he has the right mindset.
“This is what I do. This is all I know,” Claiborne said. “I might die lying there sitting on the couch. … I don’t want to coach. I want to play football.”
Last year Goodell was blasted for making a similar statement about the “risk in sitting on the couch.”
Tregg Duerson, the son of Bears great Dave Duerson who suffered from CTE and shot himself in the chest in order to preserve his brain for study, called the comment an “insult.”
Goodell cited a “culture change” among players given all the new information about head trauma.
“Players now are doing a great job of raising their hands when they don’t feel right,” Goodell said. “Teammates are raising their hands. Officials, coaches. Obviously our medical personnel. … I think all of that is part of the culture change to say it’s great to be a hard-nosed player, but you play within the rules. And you also play as safely as possible. That’s something that I think is changing how our game is being played.”
Maybe so, but Claiborne’s personal career arc has shaped his belief that nothing will pull him away from football. Injuries have been the soundtrack of Claiborne’s career since the Cowboys selected him with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2012 draft. He has missed 33 of 80 games (41 percent) with a litany of ailments to his knee, hamstring, groin, shoulder and wrist. He’s been diagnosed with three concussions, including one at LSU and two with the Cowboys in his first five seasons in the NFL.
He knows that his family wouldn’t agree with his stance to keep playing regardless of any more head injuries.
“I’m very close with my parents,” Claiborne said. “My mama would be like, ‘You’re coming home. You’re not doing it.’ But my mama ain’t out there playing though.”
And his fiancée?
“She would say the same thing,” Claiborne said.
What would Claiborne’s 7-year-old son, who plays Pop Warner, say if his father died on the field?
“He would say daddy died doing what he loved to do,” Claiborne said. “My daddy was that guy. He did what he wanted to do.”
Claiborne said family is an important factor, “but at the same time, they’re not there playing.”
“They don’t feel the way I feel about this game,” Claiborne said. “If anybody can go through some of the things that I went through and still push on, you ain’t gonna let nothing stop you. So, I’m not going to let nothing stop me. Nothing at all.”
That kind of attitude could make it more challenging for the league as it attempts to make the game safer. Adams’ words, while sitting next to Goodell, reflect that too.
“I think what (Adams) was really making the point of was how much he really loves the game and how passionate he is for the game,” the commissioner said. “He loves playing it and it’s something that means a great deal to him. I get the emotion of that.”
“It’s a different perspective as a football player,” said Claiborne, who maintains that he has never hid a concussion from coaches or trainers. “Concussions are serious. But when we’re out there playing, we don’t want nothing to take us off the field. Sometimes we give the training staffs a hard time about taking us off the field.”
Claiborne admitted that “If I was 35 years old and we’re having this conversation, I would say, ‘Okay, cool. Let me give it a rest.” But the fact that he’s in his prime with a lot left to prove is a reason to keep playing.
“There’s no way I’m coming out like that,” he said.
“A lot of people don’t believe me when I say this,” Claiborne told the Daily News in a candid discussion about CTE and concussions. “But I would die out there on that football field. This is my life. This is what I do. I give it all. I would die out there.”
“If I was concussed that bad where they said you can’t go back out there or you’ll potentially lose your life, I gotta go,” he added. “I gotta go play. I gotta go play.”
A recent study by the VA Boston Healthcare System and Boston University School of Medicine revealed that 110 of 111 brains of deceased NFL players had varying levels of CTE.
Although commissioner Roger Goodell admitted at a fan forum at the Jets facility Monday that “Everyone agrees there are an awful lot more questions than answers at this point” regarding the growing head trauma conversation, some players can’t divorce their love for the game from potential damage later in life.
“Literally, if I had a perfect place to die,” Jets safety Jamal Adams said at the fan forum panel discussion Monday, “I would die on the field.”
The 27-year-old Claiborne admitted that many people might disagree with his position given all the dangers associated with such a violent sport, but was adamant that he has the right mindset.
“This is what I do. This is all I know,” Claiborne said. “I might die lying there sitting on the couch. … I don’t want to coach. I want to play football.”
Last year Goodell was blasted for making a similar statement about the “risk in sitting on the couch.”
Tregg Duerson, the son of Bears great Dave Duerson who suffered from CTE and shot himself in the chest in order to preserve his brain for study, called the comment an “insult.”
Goodell cited a “culture change” among players given all the new information about head trauma.
“Players now are doing a great job of raising their hands when they don’t feel right,” Goodell said. “Teammates are raising their hands. Officials, coaches. Obviously our medical personnel. … I think all of that is part of the culture change to say it’s great to be a hard-nosed player, but you play within the rules. And you also play as safely as possible. That’s something that I think is changing how our game is being played.”
Maybe so, but Claiborne’s personal career arc has shaped his belief that nothing will pull him away from football. Injuries have been the soundtrack of Claiborne’s career since the Cowboys selected him with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2012 draft. He has missed 33 of 80 games (41 percent) with a litany of ailments to his knee, hamstring, groin, shoulder and wrist. He’s been diagnosed with three concussions, including one at LSU and two with the Cowboys in his first five seasons in the NFL.
He knows that his family wouldn’t agree with his stance to keep playing regardless of any more head injuries.
“I’m very close with my parents,” Claiborne said. “My mama would be like, ‘You’re coming home. You’re not doing it.’ But my mama ain’t out there playing though.”
And his fiancée?
“She would say the same thing,” Claiborne said.
What would Claiborne’s 7-year-old son, who plays Pop Warner, say if his father died on the field?
“He would say daddy died doing what he loved to do,” Claiborne said. “My daddy was that guy. He did what he wanted to do.”
Claiborne said family is an important factor, “but at the same time, they’re not there playing.”
“They don’t feel the way I feel about this game,” Claiborne said. “If anybody can go through some of the things that I went through and still push on, you ain’t gonna let nothing stop you. So, I’m not going to let nothing stop me. Nothing at all.”
That kind of attitude could make it more challenging for the league as it attempts to make the game safer. Adams’ words, while sitting next to Goodell, reflect that too.
“I think what (Adams) was really making the point of was how much he really loves the game and how passionate he is for the game,” the commissioner said. “He loves playing it and it’s something that means a great deal to him. I get the emotion of that.”
“It’s a different perspective as a football player,” said Claiborne, who maintains that he has never hid a concussion from coaches or trainers. “Concussions are serious. But when we’re out there playing, we don’t want nothing to take us off the field. Sometimes we give the training staffs a hard time about taking us off the field.”
Claiborne admitted that “If I was 35 years old and we’re having this conversation, I would say, ‘Okay, cool. Let me give it a rest.” But the fact that he’s in his prime with a lot left to prove is a reason to keep playing.
“There’s no way I’m coming out like that,” he said.
