Neurodegenerative Disease Could Be Renamed After Steelers' Webster

[SteelerSal]

PITTSBURGH -- Mike Webster is regarded as perhaps the best center in NFL history.

As anchor of the Steelers' offensive line during the team's four Super Bowl victories in the 70s, he used his body as a battering ram to punish opposing defenses.

But the punishment "Iron Mike" was inflicting was also taking its toll on his own body, especially his brain.

Following his death at the age of 50 in 2002, Webster was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease.

Now there's a movement to rename it after Webster.


"He was the first modern athlete diagnosed. He was certainly a great player on perhaps football's greatest team and was the cornerstone of the offensive line and the offense and the team spirit, I believe," said neurosurgeon Dr. Julian Bailes.

Bailes, of West Virginia University, showed Channel 4 Action News anchor Michelle Wright an example of an injured brain.

Dark spots represented tau protein, which are like sludge that won't allow cells to work properly.

Bailes said that as the brain gets rattled inside the skull, especially from repetitive concussions, it can be easily damaged.

He said that he believes that fundamental changes need to be made to professional football, where the speed of the game continues to increase. READ MORE

[st33lersguy]

It should be since he was the first and hus rough style of play essentially caused the disease

[Indo]

Interesting.

We have a doc who says that head contact should be eliminated from the game (not sure how that's gonna happen...)

...and a Commisioner who wants to add more games to the season (so the league can generate more money at the expense of player's brains...)

[SteelerEmpire]

They could probably get away with naming it after the entire Steeler franchise seeing how many players from the Webster area suffered from it.... "Steeler's Disease"

[SteelMember]

The story of Mike Webster after football is indeed a sad one. It brings me down a notch every time I think about it. Reminds me of the premise of the movie The Wrestler in some ways.

[SteelerSal]

Interesting.

We have a doc who says that head contact should be eliminated from the game (not sure how that's gonna happen...)

...and a Commisioner who wants to add more games to the season (so the league can generate more money at the expense of player's brains...)

My solution would be to do away with the todays equipment and go back to the era of leather helmets and skimpy padding and we will see how much the players will back down a notch or two with the " ESPN Highlights" hits.

[HometownGal]

Interesting.

We have a doc who says that head contact should be eliminated from the game (not sure how that's gonna happen...)

...and a Commisioner who wants to add more games to the season (so the league can generate more money at the expense of player's brains...)

Good points Indo.

Don't know how they plan on getting around knockin' the noggin' and concussions, as unfortunately, they are side effects of the sport and sometimes it doesn't take a very hard hit to cause injury to the brain.

I guess that means Ochocrotcho is spared, as he doesn't have a brain to have to worry about.

[CPanther95]

There's no question that an increase to 18 games should mean an increase in roster size (along with a 12.5% increase in pay for any existing contract - but that's another matter for another topic).