Gentle On My Brain

Tony Dorsett, star running back of the Dallas Cowboys during the seventies and eighties, has been diagnosed with having signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE. The 1976 Heisman Trophy winner has suffered memory loss and depression for several years, symptoms of this degenerative condition of the brain. At fifty-nine years of age, Mister Dorsett is not pleased to be joining the ever-expanding ranks of professional football players who suffer from this condition. Two more players were found to have CTE after months of clinical examination and study at UCLA. Five more were found last year. It is unlikely that this number will get smaller as time goes by, since detection of CTE is still in the early stages.The disease is shown by a buildup of tau, an abnormal protein that strangles brain cells. “Don’t ask me what tau protein is because I don’t know exactly what it all is,” Dorsett said. “All I know is that before, they could only be able to find tau if you die first and they open up your brains.”
A small relief for Tony Dorsett, and perhaps for other former players who are currently wrestling with similar circumstances. Maybe that's why  John Moffitt is quitting the game now, even though he is currently on a team that could take him to the Super Bowl. He told the Associated Press, "I just really thought about it and decided I'm not happy. I'm not happy at all. And I think it's really madness to risk your body, risk your well-being and risk your happiness for money. Everybody, they just don't get it and they think it's crazy. But I think what I was doing is crazy." Crazy like a Fox? Not necessarily if you mean John Fox, Moffitt's coach, who is currently residing in the cardiac care facility of a North Carolina hospital. John's brain seems to be alright, but his heart wasn't in it. Meanwhile, down in Texas, Gary Kubiak is recovering from a transient ischemic attack, a condition that temporarily stops blood flow to the brain and causes stroke-like symptoms. What do all these men have in common? They have, at one time or another, played or coached for the Denver Broncos. Maybe those brain surgeons at UCLA should check out the thin air at Mile High Stadium.