The degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) has been diagnosed in 110 of 111 former NFL players whose brains were donated for research, according to an updated study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association on Tuesday.
In total, CTE was diagnosed in 87% of 202 former football players—including high school, college, NFL, Canadian Football League and semi-pro. The study, the largest conducted into the potential link of brain trauma in football and CTE, was led by researchers at Boston University and the VA Boston Healthcare System.
Rudy Ortiz joined us in studio to give us his thoughts on this study and what it could mean for the future of football.
Ortiz didn’t mince words when he said that ‘in the near future, we will start witnessing the decline of football and its popularity among young athletes.’
Ortiz went on to say that he thinks young athletes will start opting to play baseball, basketball and soccer before football due to ‘parents that are going to decide that their kids don’t need to be risking their health in order to have fun and play a team sport.”
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