Ex-teammate: Seau suffered 1,500 concussions; donates brain
- Created on Friday, 04 May 2012 16:40
- Last Updated on 24.05.2012
- Published Date
San Diego Chargers' linebacker Gary Plummer believes he suffered 1,000 concussions in his 15 years in the NFL, perhaps as many as five per game. His former teammate, Junior Seau, played for 20 years, leading Plummer to estimate Seau may have suffered about 1,500 concussions over the course of his career.
Plummer told the San Jose Mercury News: "In the 1990s, I did a concussion seminar. They said a Grade 3 concussion meant you were knocked out, and a Grade 1 meant you were seeing stars after a hit, which made me burst out in laughter. As a middle linebacker in the NFL, if you don't have five of these (Grade 1 effects) each game, you were inactive the next game.
"Junior played for 20 years. That's five concussions a game, easily. How many in his career then? That's over 1,500 concussions. I know that's startling, but I know it's true. I had over 1,000 in my 15 years. I felt the effects of it. I felt depression going on throughout my divorce. Junior went through it with his divorce."
https://It is not known if concussions played a role in Seau's death.
Junior Seau's deathttps://uled a suicide Thursday and his family made the decision to donate his brain to researchers who will be looking for evidence of brain disease brought on by repetitive head trauma. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain disease that many believe is linked to concussions was found in Dave Duerson's brain. Duerson, who played for the Chicago Bears in the 1980s shot himself in the chest in February 2011. He left a note asking that his brain be donated for research. It is not known if former Atlanta Falcon Ray Easterling's family donated his brain for study. Easterling committed suicide April 19, 2012. His wife said he suffered from dementia.
San Diegohttps://rs chaplain Shawn Mitchell said he didn't know where Seau's brain will be sent.
"The Seau family really has, almost like Junior, a philanthropic approach, where they always desire to help others," Mitchell said in a phone interview Friday. "The purpose is not initially to discover anything about their son and what led to these tragic circumstances, but rather the betterment of other people and athletes down the road through anything that can be learned through the study," according to The AP.
Source: Ex-teammate: Junior Seau had 1,500 concussions -- USA Today -- May 4, 2012
Chaplain: Seau's brain to be donated to research -- San Jose Mercury News -- May 4, 2012
Questions/comments? contact Jean Rickerson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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