Wesley Walker: 'Knowing the things I know now, there's no way I would do it'

[Elias]

Another sad story about a NFL veteran struggling to get by after enduring the injuries of the NFL. Long but great read and I recommend everyone to read it. Still goes back to a point that i made in earlier threads. I don't think the NFL will last in 100 years and if it does, it will be completely different.

Walker, a retired elementary school gym teacher in the Kings Park school district, said he has endured seemingly nonstop doctor visits, surgeries, various prescription drugs and other treatments. But he said he has found little relief from his constant pain.

In the last year alone, Walker had two surgeries he said he’d been putting off for years. One was on his left shoulder to fix a torn labrum and rotator cuff. And he had spinal fusion surgery during which doctors inserted 10 screws and a rod to help stabilize the spine, he said. Walker believes these injuries are the results of hits he took as a player.

He also had surgery last month to repair a torn left Achilles, which he said he suffered while taking an awkward step at an autograph signing.

Walker is among the approximately 5,000 former NFL players involved in a class-action lawsuit accusing the league of allegedly concealing the dangers of concussions. A federal judge has yet to rule on a revised settlement agreement reached last June.

A handful of former football players — most notably San Diego Chargers star linebacker Junior Seau — have committed suicide in recent years and were later found to have been suffering from a brain trauma disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), that is caused by repeated hits to the head.

Those are the cases that haunt retired players who say they are in pain.

“I think about Junior Seau and all the guys that committed suicide,” said Bruce Harper, 59, a Jets running back and kick returner from 1977 to 1984. “People have no idea how it feels to go through life with stuff that just won’t go away. It’s horrible.”

Walker admits he’s scared.

“What I’m dealing with right now,” Walker said, “is the unknown.”

http://data.newsday.com/projects/sports/football/life-football/

 

[Savage69]

The Most Dangerous Sports
Sports are about playing hard, competition and, yes, getting hurt. Everyone knows it’s all part of the game.

“Injuries are a part of sport,” says Champ L. Baker, an orthopedic surgeon at the Hughston Clinic in Columbus, Ga., who is president of the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine.

But some sports are harder on the body than others. A lot harder. In 2005, the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated the highest numbers of sport-related injures were reported for basketball (409,799), football (376,115) and bicycling (317,041), says Arlene Flecha, a CPSC spokeswoman. That’s not counting minor injuries that didn’t require medical attention. The deadliest: riding an all-terrain vehicle, according to the CPSC. The sport accounted for 740 deaths in 2003, one-third of which were children under 16.

 

[Jet Fan RI]

Another sad story about a NFL veteran struggling to get by after enduring the injuries of the NFL. Long but great read and I recommend everyone to read it. Still goes back to a point that i made in earlier threads. I don't think the NFL will last in 100 years and if it does, it will be completely different.

It might not survive a hundred days if it botches the latest Pats scandal badly enough. Say, no consequences plus give an apology to the Pats. Things might even blow up if they do dole out harsh penalties but allow them to retain a SB title.

 

[Jets31]

As long as money is being made like it is the league isn't going anywhere.

They will continue to try and limit injuries, specificly head injuries.

They have made improvements already.

 

[TebowCan'tThrow]

It might not survive a hundred days if it botches the latest Pats scandal badly enough. Say, no consequences plus give an apology to the Pats. Things might even blow up if they do dole out harsh penalties but allow them to retain a SB title.

I know the handling of Pats cheating has soured me on the NFL. I'm not going to monetarily support them next year. No Sunday Ticket. No jerseys. No games. Luckily I like hockey.

 

[Jet Fan RI]

I know the handling of Pats cheating has soured me on the NFL. I'm not going to monetarily support them next year. No Sunday Ticket. No jerseys. No games. Luckily I like hockey.

Not sure I can bring myself to drop the Ticket. Although I am outraged at the NFL, I am also excited by the coaching and FO changes the Jets made. I like hockey too. But when my team blows like mine does this year, I just can't get into it, except to check the scores in the paper. At least, most days I check them. But for some reason, even when then Jets suck, I watch them. Go figure.

 

[flgreen]

According to Cantu:

• The person at the top of a cheerleader pyramid is 10 times more likely to suffer a concussion or a catastrophic injury than a football player. “I can’t imagine many things as risky as throwing someone 20 feet in the air with only a few sets of arms between her and a hardwood floor,” Cantu writes.

The National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research at the University of North Carolina noted that there were two high school cheerleading catastrophic injuries during the 2009-2010 school year and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons estimated there were 10,000 concussions in 2011 among cheerleaders, gymnasts and dancers.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/11/11/2475302/high-school-concussions-are-not.html#storylink=cpy

 

[Elias]

The NFL released a report where they say that concussions dropped 25% this year. That's a good result in my opinion.