Experts Call for NCAA to Warn Athletes About Long-Term Risks of Brain Trauma
By Ken Reed
Dr. Robert Cantu and Chris Nowinski of the Sports Legacy Institute have asked the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to warn athletes about the risk of developing Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) from repetitive brain trauma in sports.
“CTE can be a devastating neurological disease, and anyone voluntarily exposing themselves to repeated brain trauma should be warned of the consequences, even though we cannot yet perfectly quantify the risk,” said Cantu, a brain specialist at Boston University School of Medicine and a co-director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy.
CTE is a progressive brain disease believed to be caused by repetitive trauma to the brain, including concussions or sub concussive blows to the head.
The NFL, while lax in this area for years, has, since 2010, given education materials to players about the potential long-term effects from brain trauma. It’s time NCAA athletes received the same type of educational information.
“Athletes deserve to have informed consent and the opportunity to modify their behavior based on the established science,” said Nowinski, a former All-Ivy defensive lineman for Harvard University.
It’s safe to say that the vast majority of today’s college football players don’t know a thing about CTE, or any other long-term neurological conditions related to brain trauma. It’s the NCAA’s responsibility to educate them — and all other college athletes involved in sports in which head trauma is a fairly common risk.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
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"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- League of Fans Sports Policy Director Ken Reed quoted in Washington Post column titled "What happened to P.E.? It’s losing ground in our push for academic improvement," by Jay Mathews
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Vanderbilt Sport & Society - On The Ball with Andrew Maraniss with guest Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director for League of Fans and author of How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
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