to convince people there might be a link between athletes committing suicide, having problems and concussions, what is the president s involvement say about where we are in this debate right now. it was an amazing day for us because when the president is speaking about this issue, there really isn t a higher place to go so i was just so excited that it s reached that level and that level of consciousness in the united states now. but you guys heard the president. there s still tremendous pressure on athlete os play even when they have concussion symptoms and, ted, what happened in your experience? yeah, i know, it was in the summer of 2002 i got a concussion in a preseason game and four days later i was pushed out there, i got another concussion. i got my bell rung and i got dinged at least two or three times a week for the rest of my career. when i got those two back-to-back so that s where the long-term problems happen. if you don t let the first one heal and get a second one,
for change. welco welcome, guys. good to be here. chris, when you look back at where you started, just trying to convince people there might be a link between athletes committing suicide, having problems and concussions, what is the president s involvement say about where we are in this debate right now. it was an amazing day for us because when the president is speaking about this issue, there really isn t a higher place to go so i was just so excited that it s reached that level and that level of consciousness in the united states now. but you guys heard the president. there s still tremendous pressure on athlete os play even when they have concussion symptoms and, ted, what happened in your experience? yeah, i know, it was in the summer of 2002 i got a concussion in a preseason game and four days later i was pushed out there, i got another concussion. i got my bell rung and i got dinged at least two or three times a week for the rest of my
there was a time when athletes joked about getting their bell rung and hardly anyone seemed to notice. that time is long gone. the nfl is battling multiple lawsuits from former player, scared parents are pulling their kids from youth sports and yesterday the issue reached the white house. as president obama demanded change. we need more athletes to understand how important it is to do what we can to prevent injuries and to admit them when they do happen. right? we have to change a culture that says, you suck it up. well, i want to welcome in our guest, chris nuinski and chris may win for most unusual career path. football at harvard then became a pro wwe wrestler and became instrumental in the examination of the brain of several high-profile athletes after suffering a concussion himself and welcome in ted johnson, three-time super bowl champion and has become a leading voice
concussion problems, you know, that the concussion information wasn t really well known. and certainly people knew that players were getting their bell rung and going back in and playing, but they didn t really know the extent of the damage that was causing, until some of these guys, unfortunately, died and their brains were examined, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy was discovered. this lawsuit is a completely different beast. there are eight former players right now. they want to get, i think up to 500 in a class action lawsuit. and they re alleging here that this was willful and known, that they were given opioids, the n nonsteroidal uppers and downers. you name it. the problem is, all of these drugs interact with one another. sometimes in a bad way. and often with alcohol, you know, thrown into the mix. yeah. and now they re having kidney
be in warm-weather cities. i think for romantic reasons people are talking about green bay. but the infrastructure is not there. the history is there, the stadium is there. vince lombardi, green bay packers, kind of the birthplace of professional football but i can t see you having it there. michael, let s talk about professional safety. terry bradshaw has talked about the fact that he thinks he suffered cognitive problems because of the hits he took and bouts of depression. how do you think the nfl handled it when you were playing and how do you think they are handling it now? when i was playing, you get your bell rung, go back in the game. it seemed to be the way it was. and players seemed to be more in control of going back in a game after a situation like that arose. i think the situation now is great. you take the helmet away from the player. the player has to pass certain tests. if you re on the verge or