Junior Seau

[Nipfisher]

I am a huge NFL fan and this guy was an icon of the modern game.

 

 

 

http://sports.ca.msn...probe-suicide-1

Edited May 3, 2012 by Nipfisher

[Gregoire]

Hard to believe that he killed himself. Makes one wonder if the repeated trauma to his brain he experienced as a player had anything to do with it.

Edited May 3, 2012 by fishgreg

[mercman]

I am having a hard time believeing suicide. Even the police will tell you, that someone wanting to kill themselves, will rarely shoot themselves in the chest.It just isn't effective enough.

[Hooked]

When I first read it I was in awe, couldn't believe it. Appears almost like some of those hockey players that followed the same path....perhaps fishgreg could be on to something. Depression....can lead a person to do some really crazy things. Regardless a tough loss and no way to go out. RIP Junior.

[[email protected]]

unreal

[Dutchy]

Even the police will tell you, that someone wanting to kill themselves, will rarely shoot themselves in the chest.

 

Its certainly unusual, I thought the exact same thing as you. Maybe it was a cry for help and he didn't mean to kill himself.

[Stoty]

Very sad news for sure.

[manitoubass2]

R.I.P. Junior

 

A great player and I was huge fan.

 

That being said, Concussions or not, that doesn't really have a place in our discussion as to what happened.

 

Lately, there is alot of talk over suicide/death due to concussions, but there are so many other related factors....

 

We will never really know.

 

Anyone with half a brain knows what professional athletes endure. The physicality does play a part, but so does mentality, life, abuse etc...

 

I obviously have no idea what happened, but when things like this occur, the first thing I think of is the "pedestal" professional athletes are put on, and how the other factors play a part, then your career ends....

 

It has to play a hyyyyuge emotional role, and if you couple that with relationship factors, drug use, past family issues etc, it is my feeling that it's a recipe for disaster.

 

I just think it's time we as society look at everything as a whole to produce a conclusion. I think all these athletes/people deserve that and I believe that is fair treatment and helps a legacy.

 

Very easy to pinpoint one issue as the cause, when really everyone involved knows damn well the things that go on with professional athletes....

 

If you want to honor someone you cherished, give them the dignity of dying in their own way. Celebrate their life and accomplishments...

 

Don't tarnish them with hearsay and bull.

 

Prost to everyone that has past, athlete or not, and to hell with everyone who dissects your life in an unruly manner

[fishindevil]

did you guys see his mother on the news,and what his dumb actions did to the family ??? thats a cowards way out....

[Gregoire]

R.I.P. Junior

 

A great player and I was huge fan.

 

That being said, Concussions or not, that doesn't really have a place in our discussion as to what happened.

 

Lately, there is alot of talk over suicide/death due to concussions, but there are so many other related factors....

 

We will never really know.

 

Anyone with half a brain knows what professional athletes endure. The physicality does play a part, but so does mentality, life, abuse etc...

 

I obviously have no idea what happened, but when things like this occur, the first thing I think of is the "pedestal" professional athletes are put on, and how the other factors play a part, then your career ends....

 

It has to play a hyyyyuge emotional role, and if you couple that with relationship factors, drug use, past family issues etc, it is my feeling that it's a recipe for disaster.

 

I just think it's time we as society look at everything as a whole to produce a conclusion. I think all these athletes/people deserve that and I believe that is fair treatment and helps a legacy.

 

Very easy to pinpoint one issue as the cause, when really everyone involved knows damn well the things that go on with professional athletes....

 

If you want to honor someone you cherished, give them the dignity of dying in their own way. Celebrate their life and accomplishments...

 

Don't tarnish them with hearsay and bull.

 

Prost to everyone that has past, athlete or not, and to hell with everyone who dissects your life in an unruly manner

 

Not sure what you meant by this, but I think that a discussion about whether Junior Seau may have permanently damaged his brain is very relevant and in no way tarnishes his legacy.

Although I have no relationship with Junior Seau, I played football at a high level for 7 years in College and University. I am no where bear the physical specimen that Junior was, but I feel the long term effect of playing football on a daily basis. I was diagnosed with two concussions during my playing days, and am currently in my mid 30's, and know that my brain does not function at the same level as it once did.

Please don't dismiss me as a dumb jock either, I earned an academic scholarship to a top Canadian university. I believe that I have direct experience with this issue.

If you are dismissing the issue of brain trauma as a potential impact on Junior's death, especially if it was a suicide than I believe that you are the one who is tarnishing his legacy. A man's legacy should be the total accumulation of his life's work, not a snapshot of a point in history.

Sorry to go on a bit on this topic, and I hope that you do not feel that this is an attack on you. As a person with direct knowledge of the long term impact that brain trauma can cause, and as a Amateur football coach I think that we should learn as much as possible about issues like concussions and football so that we can make the game that many people love as safe as possible.

I do agree with you that as a society we need to look at why we put professional athletes on pedestal and how this may affect their lives.

Just my 2 cents.

[KShea]

A sad day indeed. and what's creepy is how many players from that 94 rams team have died freakish deaths, lightening , plane crashes etc . truly sad.

[manitoubass2]

Not sure what you meant by this, but I think that a discussion about whether Junior Seau may have permanently damaged his brain is very relevant and in no way tarnishes his legacy.

Although I have no relationship with Junior Seau, I played football at a high level for 7 years in College and University. I am no where bear the physical specimen that Junior was, but I feel the long term effect of playing football on a daily basis. I was diagnosed with two concussions during my playing days, and am currently in my mid 30's, and know that my brain does not function at the same level as it once did.

Please don't dismiss me as a dumb jock either, I earned an academic scholarship to a top Canadian university. I believe that I have direct experience with this issue.

If you are dismissing the issue of brain trauma as a potential impact on Junior's death, especially if it was a suicide than I believe that you are the one who is tarnishing his legacy. A man's legacy should be the total accumulation of his life's work, not a snapshot of a point in history.

Sorry to go on a bit on this topic, and I hope that you do not feel that this is an attack on you. As a person with direct knowledge of the long term impact that brain trauma can cause, and as a Amateur football coach I think that we should learn as much as possible about issues like concussions and football so that we can make the game that many people love as safe as possible.

I do agree with you that as a society we need to look at why we put professional athletes on pedestal and how this may affect their lives.

Just my 2 cents.

 

 

I can totally understand where your coming from. In fact, I've suffered numerous concussions and it's a big part of why you can't translate my post, lol. I have a really hard time putting my thoughts in order when I type.

 

I too have an education, it doesn't hinder me from learning, just in the way I speak or type things out.

 

Concussions def. need to be taken very seriously and studied in far greater detail.

 

The point I'm trying to make is that it could very well be the issue that caused this tragedy, maybe not? Or it can be numerous factors or outside factors.

 

I was just peeved at the show I was watching and how they presented it. It immediately went into talks of studying head trauma and concussions as if the focus wasn't on his death, and I find that disrespectful.

 

Hopefully thats more understandable for you?

 

Very sad to see his mother speak, that always breaks me up

 

 

[otter649]

One report said there was a note & the reason Mr Seau shot himself in

his heart/body was that he wanted his brain to be tested & used in research....

[Gregoire]

I agree with you on many points, especially that Seau was a tremendous player and deserves to be treated as a once in a generation talent who changed the game. Having said that I think that we as a society need to look long and hard about how we view brutality and violence in sport. Is it worth millions of dollars if it is going to cost you your health? I do not have any children, but I struggle with whether I would let my son play football knowing the long term effects that it has had on my body. I know my father had the same struggles. I makes you wonder whether as a society we need to look at what we value and change the way we think.

Having said that I love watching and coaching football, I am just starting to think more about what effect playing the game has on the players.

[Billy Bob]

And we can't rule out steroid use.

[BillM]

And we can't rule out steroid use.

 

I don't know what steroids half to do with him taking his own life.

[Billy Bob]

I don't know what steroids half to do with him taking his own life.

Steroids make a person ANGRY and violent.

[manitoubass2]

@fishgreg,

 

You have to remember though it's a choice of the individual to pursue something they love. Some people will think similarly to you, and choose another profession/hobby, some won't. For some people doing what they love means everything, and health isn't going to stop that pursuit.

 

We go out in boats everyday and risk accidents their as well, no different then other sports on that level. We choose to do it, even with the risk of drowning etc. Same as other professions, firefighting etc. To them the risk is worth it, and they accept the short term/long term consequences of those decisions.

 

Anyhow, very tragic loss. Very talented athlete and by the sounds of it, an even greater person.

 

 

[manitoubass2]

Steroids make a person ANGRY and violent.

 

lol, that's nonsense.

 

 

 

[Spiel]

I don't know what steroids half to do with him taking his own life.

 

"have".....

 

and yes many drugs, steroids included will addle ones perception.

[BillM]

Steroids make a person ANGRY and violent.

 

And you think he was on roids while not playing in the NFL just because?

 

Chris, thanks for the spelling lesson. My brain works faster then my fingers can type! LOL

Edited May 3, 2012 by BillM

[Billy Bob]

lol, that's nonsense.

Sorry but you are totally wrong....

 

The use of performance enhancing drugs and anabolic steroids dates back to the late 1960s in the National Football League (NFL). Denver Broncos defensive lineman Lyle Alzado was a more notable early incident on the NFL. In the last years of his life, as he battled against the brain tumor that eventually caused his death at the age of 43, Alzado asserted that his steroid abuse directly led to his fatal illness, but his physician stated it could not possibly be true. According to some reports, Alzado was using natural growth hormone, harvested from human corpses, as opposed to synthetic growth hormones. However, shortly before his death, Alzado recounted his steroid abuse in an article in Sports Illustrated. He said:

“ I started taking anabolic steroids in 1969 and never stopped. It was addicting, mentally addicting. Now I'm sick, and I'm scared. Ninety percent of the athletes I know are on the stuff. We're not born to be 300 lbs or jump 30ft. But all the time I was taking steroids, I knew they were making me play better. I became very violent on the field and off it. I did things only crazy people do. Once a guy sideswiped my car and I beat the hell out of him. Now look at me. My hair's gone, I wobble when I walk and have to hold on to someone for support, and I have trouble remembering things. My last wish? That no one else ever dies this way."[7] ”

Jim Haslett was quoted saying that during the 1980s, half of the players in the league used some type of performance enhancing drug or steroid and all of the defensive lineman used them. One of the players from the Super Bowl winning 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers team confessed to using steroids before these statements, Steve Courson.[8] Courson was another lineman for the Steelers, and admitted to using steroids before his death in 2005. He also blamed a heart condition that he had on steroids. Some of his teammates, such as Jack Ham and Jack Lambert refused to use any kind of performance enhancing drug.[8]

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steroid_use_in_American_football

[Spiel]

 

 

Chris, thanks for the spelling lesson. My brain works faster then my fingers can type! LOL

 

Just throwing it out there Bill.

 

While I've never taken steroids I've been fed a number of prescription drugs over the years for chronic pain and jumped off everyone of them because of the personality change I felt with everyone. In many cases they made me angry, somewhat violent, depressed and not overly well in the least, not to mention that almost all of them did nothing in terms of treating the issues they were prescribed for!

[manitoubass2]

Billybob,

 

wiki is a useful tool, but not so much when it comes to science.

 

anyone that has an understanding of the endocrine system and neuro chemistry would understand where I'm coming from.

 

but lets save that for a more appropriate thread

[BillM]

From what wiki link I don't see a single professional source that states steroid use lead directly to anyone of those issues. Too many opinions and not enough facts.

 

Also BB, HGH and steroids are two very different things.