newjerseynewsroom.com

BY JED HUGHES

COMMENTARY

We have so many clichés in sports about head and heart. "Get your head in the game… Keep your head up… You gotta have heart…They played with a lot of heart today…" However, the importance of athletes’ heads and hearts can’t be underestimated – both figuratively and literally.

Head Injuries

An often overlooked aspect in sports has been the long-term impact head injuries take on an athlete’s life. There is no shortage of notable athletes who were forced into early retirement due to recurrent concussions. Many of them face long-term physical difficulties and shorter life expectancies.

Head injuries are devastating. John Mackey, a top tight end for the Colts and the first president of the NFL Players Association after the NFL-AFL merger, suffered from frontal temporal dementia, and spent the conclusion of his life in an assisted living facility. Former Bears quarterback Jim McMahon suffers from short-term memory loss and believes that his problems are related to head injuries he sustained during his career. The NFL is currently facing multi-million dollar lawsuits filed by players who claim head trauma caused long-term damage.

Hockey players suffer more than their fair share of head trauma. Pittsburgh Penguin captain Sidney Crosby, the marquee player of the NHL, has battled post-concussion syndrome for much of the past two years. After a brief return in December, he sat out until March and is now playing again. There is a real possibility that his next head injury could end his career and possibly cause permanent damage. Post-concussion syndrome forced Pat LaFontaine, one of the greatest U.S.-born players, to abruptly end his Hall of Fame career. He is now an advocate for the NHL Players Association. Eric Lindros, the #1 pick overall in 1992, famously suffered multiple head injuries that also resulted in an early retirement.

Two of the most famous athletes in American history may be able to pinpoint their physical declines to repeated head injuries. Muhammed Ali’s Parkinson’s disease is very likely a result of too many blows to the head during his boxing career. A 2010 report by

CNN suggested that New York Yankee legend Lou Gehrig may have been fallen victim to Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), due to head injuries he incurred during a career in an era when players did not use batting helmets.

Understanding how head injuries impact athletes' long-term health is essential. Recently, Lebron James said he was “too tough to get a concussion.” This kind of attitude is dangerous. We simply don't know the repercussions of head injuries sustained by adults and children who play sports. It is best to err on the side of caution when returning from concussions.

Heart Injuries

Generally, athletes are in remarkable physical shape and look and feel indestructible. Yet, there have been so many tragic examples of young athletes suffering from heart attacks and dying of heat stroke after being pushed too hard.

According to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury