The Voice of Lee Schwartz, father of two former NFL studs, Geoffrey and Mitchell Schwartz, author of Raising Giants and member of Concussion & CTE Foundation’s West Coast Advisory Board . . .
THE OSTRICH APPROACH
Twice. In two days! I just can’t sit back and ignore.
CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) . . . a degenerative brain disease that can lead to mental health challenges and ultimately death . . . is real. It’s not a “hypothetical disease” as voiced by an NCAA attorney. Just because it can’t be diagnosed in living teenagers doesn’t mean the disease doesn’t exist. Two of our nation’s leading health organizations, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), formally recognize CTE as a serious national health issue. And recently the World Health Organization (WHO) formally recognized CTE as a distinct neurodegenerative disease and a formal cause of dementia.
Yet, there are communities that simply run from the topic. It won’t go away because they choose to bury their head in the sand.
Being on the West Coast Advisory Board for the Concussion & CTE Foundation, I asked a program director I know about appearing on one of his radio shows to talk about CTE. Having previously appeared on one of his shows he gratefully entertained the request. A couple of weeks later a text arrived from him. I excitedly thought, “Let’s go.” No, no, no.
Instead, I was told that his bosses had advised him, and all producers, to stay away from the topic, so he’d have to pass on my request. Really? Do his higher ups think that by not addressing the subject it just then doesn’t exist? I suspect not. My speculation is that the directive came from those who pay the bills, i.e., the NFL and NCAA. These institutions want desperately to control the narrative. If they say “no go,” then requests like mine are quickly denied.
In similar fashion, I’ve taken the initiative to proactively reach out to a handful of local newspaper reporters expressing my desire to connect based on articles they’ve written related in some fashion to concussions and CTE. Crickets. Didn’t even have the respect to simply acknowledge receipt saying, “Not interested.”
You can run but you can’t hide. The instances of CTE are growing. Why not step up to help the parents of today’s younger generation understand the risks of participating in youth contact sports?
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Since putting this blog “to bed,” I’ve had my faith renewed . . . to some extent. A couple of reporters with whom I reached out to because of articles they wrote about CTE actually responded. Floored me. 🤣 There’s hope.
I don’t understand how people have a hard time sleeping… I can do it with my eyes closed.