Junior Seau was a 20 year veteran linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). After playing in 10 all-pro football games, being a part of the 1990’s decade team, and being inducted to the Chargers hall of fame, he was considered one of the most passionate and persistent defensive players of all time.

But three years after his second retirement in 2009, Seau committed suicide at age 55. After 20 years of football Seau had suffered enough brain injuries to drive any man insane. He just couldn’t take it anymore.

Junior Seau’s death marked the beginning of the 6,000 people who sued the NFL for not taking further action against concussions. Seau committed suicide on May 2, 2012; he shot himself in the chest with no suicide note. He did ask for his brain to be donated and researched by the NIH. They discovered that after playing in the NFL for 20 years and starting his own charity foundation, he had received so much brain trauma that he contracted Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). They officially diagnosed him with this disease on January 10, 2013.

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is a degenerative disease that slowly destroys brain tissue.  The disease arises from an accumulative number of concussions and other traumas to the skull commonly acquired by football players. It can lead to increased depression, memory loss, and aggression.

The NFL was forced to pay $765 million to reimburse the thousands of players who had suffered from head injuries.

Concussions and other head injuries are now huge issues for the NFL. The NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell have implemented numerous new rules to terminate this issue, including the “Hitting with the Crown of the Helmet” rule. These rules have been designed specifically to reduce head injuries on both offense and defense, but they have not been enough.

“We will continue to find ways to protect players so they can enjoy longer careers on the field and healthier lives off the field,” Goodell stated, speaking for the entirety of the NFL. In this year alone, there have already been seven rule changes.

The NFL tried numerous times to cover up the real effects of playing football by giving out minimal information about the concussion and brain damage issues. However, a book by the name of “League of Denial” by Mark Fainaru-Wada, releases all the information hidden from the general public concerning this issue.

The book discusses what neurologists have been warning the league about since 2000. Football has been proven to have links to memory loss, depression, and brain damage. Out of the 54 deceased NFL players, most of whom committed suicide, only two of them have not been diagnosed with CTE.

The disease is not only linked to professional football, as proven by 17 year old Nathan Stiles, who after taking a heavy blow to the head in his high school football game, died of internal bleeding in the skull.  His brain was also donated to neurologists, and they discovered that before he had even graduated, football had cursed him with CTE.