Whoa, that is a shock. It's on the local news down here right now. I never really followed his career much. Did he have concussion issues ever?
The local news is hinting that his car crash from a couple years ago may have been another attempt. The official story was he fell asleep at the wheel and drove off a cliff at 70 mph. I remember when it happened, it was assumed there were drugs/alcohol involved, but I guess there was no evidence of that. The story just went away. I had forgotten about it until just now. So weird that ESPN still hasn't picked this up.
The guy on OTL reported it at the beginning of the show. I imagine ESPN can't really go too much into it without confirmation from police and/or the coroner. It will be big, big news tonight, though. Arguably the greatest middle linebacker, with Ray Lewis right there with him (or maybe a bit ahead of Seau), of the past 25 years.
Online it doesn't even mention he's dead. I know they're usually pretty cautious about breaking news like this, but still surprising that there isn't any mention of it online.
As a die hard Bolts fan, this hits hard. R.I.P #55. On the same note, its hard to fathom a reason to leave 3 children behind. Being an Angels fan, this is hard to stomach when you look back at Nick Adenhart having his life taken.
Damn, what a tragedy, one of the best football players ever, a complete game changer. I sincerely hope this incident doesn't lend further credibility to the concussion issues that could potentially be the demise of football. I'm getting a feeling that these issues may compound and ultimately lead to the downfall of the sport. Pure speculation but perhaps finances became an issue? I'm beginning to feel like the players should receive half of their yearly salary while playing, while putting half into a managed fund to prevent the wreckless spending habits that so many players seem to have. I'm not sure this idea could be implemented, it would probably have to wait until the next round of negotiations occur. I'd love to see all leagues take this approach. It's a tragedy to see so many players broke within a few years of exiting their leagues.
Wow, what sad news! I would not be surprised if it is concussion related. I hope equipment manufacturers find a way to make better helmets.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1763534/pdf/v071p00436.pdf http://www.suicide.org/concussions-can-lead-to-suicide.html much more at the links. Unless they can find a way to show/prove/spin that this Hall of Fame football player did NOT die from a suicide caused by depression that may have been the result of repeated hits to the head, football in general and the NFL are going to have a hard time keeping things the way they are. Seau was a huge star and a big hero for a lot of fans. This is going to get the attention of a lot of folks who have not noticed this long building crisis. At a minimum, the NFL is going to have to pay to have players and ex-players monitored and tracked by professionals so if and when symptoms and problems crop up they can be treated.
Helmets are vastly improved. They only made the concussion "crisis" worse. There were fewer concussions when helmets offered minimal protection.
Yep. The better helmets have allowed players to launch at an opposing player's head or body leading with their helmet. Back in the day, that was called spearing, and it was considered a taboo. Then, it changed to the more vague "Unnecessary Roughness", which is hard to quantify.
If it was a suicide, I just don't understand why he didn't talk to someone. I think everyone has gone through a dark point in their lives, but you have to share with your friends and loved ones when you need help. A lot of people hide their feelings. Depression is a terrible thing. It can hide just under the surface where no one can see it. Everyone is saying they had no idea that Seau was depressed. Maybe they should have really dug deeper after that car wreck he was in. The guy had three kids... just terrible thing.
