Junior Seau book excerpt reinforces grim painting of NFL’s injury treatment
A recent excerpt of Jim Trotter’s book, “JUNIOR SEAU: The Life and Death of a Football Icon,” published on ESPN.com, reinforces the grim nature of the NFL’s treatment of injuries during the Hall of Famer’s era.
After the author explains how doctors never diagnosed Seau with a concussion during his 20-year career that featured 1,522 tackles across 268 games, his ex-wife Gina Seau tackled the reality of self-diagnosis.
“I can’t even count how many,” said Gina. “After games, particularly away games when I would watch them on TV, we would talk about the game and how he played. Sometimes I would ask him what happened on a certain play or why something went wrong and he wasn’t in a certain spot. He would say, ‘Oh, I had a concussion. I just had to shake it off.'”
While the NFL has since introduced a strict concussion protocol to better protect players from themselves, we’re only a week removed from Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins openly admitting to playing through a concussion in a Week 9 overtime win against the Dallas Cowboys.
Trotter’s excerpt describes the prescription drug black market that NFL locker rooms had become — players hoarding and trading painkillers to self-treat injuries — and the peer pressure to play at whatever cost that’s so prevalent in the league. Former Oakland Raiders guard Steve Wisniewski, who appeared in eight Pro Bowls over his 13 seasons, explained the aftermath of one particular blow to the head.
“When Jeff Hostetler, our quarterback, called the play, I would turn to a buddy and ask, ‘Is that a run or a pass?'” Wisniewski said. “I completely blanked on the scheme. But it was a different culture then. In that time period, you were really looked down upon if you couldn’t be out there. If you were injured, you found a way to play. I missed one game in my NFL career. A second game I was dressed and my coach wouldn’t let me play because I was literally hobbling. A great many times you’re in the locker room wondering, How am I going to get through this game?
“I liken it to the military. I haven’t served in the military, but my father, my brother, my son, my brother-in-law, my uncle — they all served. In the military guys do extraordinary feats of heroism because of their buddies, for the people in their unit. They don’t do it for heroism or country or politicians. They do it for each other. When I played I always had that sense that you’re not going to let your team down. Junior was that way. He pushed himself. He was there for the team.”
Was it a different culture, though? After being listed on the injury report with a right shoulder injury for the first time this season, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers — the league’s reigning MVP — explained to ESPN.com on Wednesday that hiding and playing through injury is “a source of pride.”
“It’s not an excuse. It’s a source of pride. I think that’s the difference. Some people use the injuries as an excuse. But I think for the guys in this locker room who are out there battling, it’s a source of pride.”
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“Some people don’t like going in the training room and getting treatment. We want to be out there with our guys. There’s a lot of pride in lacing it up every Sunday and knowing that it doesn’t matter what you’re dealing with, you’re going to play through it. We’ve all done it over the years.”
Likewise, Packers teammate Josh Sitton, who is currently dealing with a knee injury, told ESPN.com, “You want to play through injuries because you have pride and you don’t want to let your team down,” and, “Everybody’s hurt in this league.” So, yeah, the culture hasn’t changed. And it won’t, not among players who view themselves as modern-day gladiators, which is why it’s the league’s responsibility to best police the problems that could endanger their long-term health and threaten the sport as a whole.
Because, sadly, we already know how the book on Seau ends. One of the game’s greatest players gone too soon, following a suicide many believe came as the result of brain trauma he suffered in the NFL.
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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
