Jim McMahon on post-concussions FB life

[LizardState]

"My memory's pretty much gone.....There are a lot of times when I walk into a room and forget why I walked in there." ...
"He'll walk in a room and forget why he walked in, which we all do, but he does it on a daily basis."

Good article on the dark side of multiple concussions after FB from the '85 Bears QB who's now 51 & suffering greatly.

Casehistories like McMahon give creedence to the concussion problem & why the NFL has to take it seriously now, in McMahon's era they didn't & players like him are paying a terrible price.


From ESPNChicago

Jim McMahon supports brain studies

By Melissa Isaacson
ESPNChicago.com

CHICAGO -- It was during Super Bowl media day in February when Jim McMahon was first approached and asked to get involved with the Sports Legacy Institute, which was formed three years ago to "solve the concussion crisis" in sports.

More than that, Boston University researchers want to study McMahon's brain as part of their ongoing mission to treat and prevent the effects of brain trauma in athletes and other at-risk groups. McMahon's comments have indicated that he's a good candidate.

"My memory's pretty much gone," McMahon recently told the Chicago Tribune. "There are a lot of times when I walk into a room and forget why I walked in there. I'm going through some studies right now, and I am going to do a brain scan. It's unfortunate what the game does to you.

"I've worked with some neurosurgeons and it's a very serious thing, man."

McMahon has yet to pledge his brain to the study, but he intends to help raise money for research, beginning with co-hosting a fundraiser in Chicago at John Allan's Men's Club on Jan. 13. Proceeds will help bring educational programs and clinics about brain trauma to Chicago-area youth coaches. McMahon's former teammates Richard Dent and Gary Fencik will be among other athletes taking part in the event.

For McMahon, 51, whose heroics on the field -- and antics off -- in leading the 1985 Bears to the Super Bowl title made him one of football's most colorful characters, it was an opportunity he couldn't refuse. McMahon and his girlfriend, Laurie Navon, had seen a television feature on brain injuries in former athletes caused by repeated blows in football.

"He had been worried about it for a while," said Navon, speaking from McMahon's Scottsdale, Ariz., home on Wednesday. "He does forget things. He'll ask you a question, and 20 minutes later, will ask you the same question. Initially, I thought he was joking, but he wasn't.

"He'll walk in a room and forget why he walked in, which we all do, but he does it on a daily basis."

In a recent interview with ESPNChicago.com, McMahon talked about the aftereffects of his 15-year football career and said he was in pain every day, hasn't worked out in 15 years and can't run. At the same time, he said he did not second-guess the way he played.

"You could only play the game one way," he said. "It was the only way I knew how to play. I wouldn't change anything. I'd do it again, even though I know it's going to hurt."

McMahon was asked about the Bears' dramatic Thursday night victory in Minnesota in 1985, during which he came off the bench after being in the hospital that week with back spasms and a serious leg infection. He tossed three touchdown passes -- a performance that vaulted him to celebrity status nationally -- but McMahon said he could not cite any specifics.

"I've been hit in the head so many times, it's hard to remember that far back," he said. "I don't remember specific games."

Navon said McMahon's confusion affects his quality of life.

"He definitely gets depressed, because he can't do what he used to do and wants to do," she said. "We'll be driving someplace and we'll be halfway there and he says 'Where are we going?' He has a Kindle and he'll pick a book he thinks is interesting and get a quarter of the way through and realize he read it.

"He's going to become very active [with the Sports Legacy Institute] and try to get as many former players involved as he can. ... He feels it's important to get more information out there. He and others took the blows for the young kids today, and now the rules are changing after they took all the hits."

[wogitalia]

I forget things all the time but I will never forget his epic mullet, puts any modern day mullet to shame.

[Dr. Gonzo]

Sounds to me like McMahon needs to lay off the weed.

[yourfavestoner]

Originally Posted by Dr. Gonzo

Sounds to me like McMahon needs to lay off the weed.

That's what I was thinking. I walk into rooms and forget why I did all the time.

He needs to stop being such a baby.

[wogitalia]

NFLDC... a compassionate place!

[CJSchneider]

McMahon wasn't all that tight when he was in his prime. This just sounds like a natural progression.

[Paranoidmoonduck]

Perhaps McMahon isn't the best guy to go to for this, but all the studies regarding the mental health risks that resulted from insanely loose regards towards head injuries in the NFL in the past shouldn't be minimized.

The one that no one ever talks about is Ted Johnson.

Head injuries are serious business.

[prock]

I also walk into rooms and forget why. That isn't concussion, that is just forgetting.

[bam bam]

Whatever happened to that helmet some company came out with a few years back that had air pockets instead of padding? That was supposed to be a breakthrough in concussion prevention.

If you want to get rich playing the game, these guys got to understand that all the rules in the world will not stop their heads from getting cracked from time to time.

[bam bam]

And, as has been pointed out, the majority of these guys are not among the upper echelons of their graduating classes.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by bam bam

Whatever happened to that helmet some company came out with a few years back that had air pockets instead of padding?

http://www.schuttsports.com/aspx/spo...og.aspx?id=792 this?

[HawkeyeFan]

As a friend of an NFL Player who recently got IRed because of a concussion. I guess it touches home more than others? I don't find it very funny. He plays DL too.

As far as concussions go, he told me ( when he spoke with the Concussion specialist after 3 months of migraines ) that no matter what the NFL does, with equipment, and what not, nothing will prevent a concussion with the speed/power/size of the NFL Players. A large portion of the NFL players DO NOT wear mouth guards, which would be the #1 think potentially ( in my opinion ) to preventing concussions.

He also said a lot of NFL teams will stay away from the concussion word to try and force a guy to play. Not all teams, but some. My friend suffered from migraines and they wouldn't say concussion, until he went to a specialist and they pretty much ordered the team to shut him down.

It's really scary stuff.

[Bluesman]

Originally Posted by yourfavestoner

That's what I was thinking. I walk into rooms and forget why I did all the time.

He needs to stop being such a baby.

"I feel down sometimes, I don't see what the big deal is about depression."
"Well I get hungry too, I don't see why starvation is a big deal. Bunch of babies."

Same level of ignorance and general stupidity involved.

No though, I'm sure you're right. I'm sure that the physical impairment and degradation that often results from the sport magically does not make its way above the shoulders and thus is equivalent to you forgetting where you put your keys.

[yourfavestoner]

Originally Posted by Bluesman

"I feel down sometimes, I don't see what the big deal is about depression."
"Well I get hungry too, I don't see why starvation is a big deal. Bunch of babies."

Same level of ignorance and general stupidity involved.

No though, I'm sure you're right. I'm sure that the physical impairment and degradation that often results from the sport magically does not make its way above the shoulders and thus is equivalent to you forgetting where you put your keys.

Easy tiger, I was being sarcastic.