Click here to download the print-friendly PDF version of the January 9, 2018 "Remarks to the Port Jefferson Board of Education regarding CTE and the District Football Program"

Remarks to the Port Jefferson Board of Education Regarding CTE and the District Football Program

Abstract: Recent studies add to evidence that repetitive brain trauma caused by symptomatic concussions -- as well as asymptomatic subconcussive hits to the head that do not cause symptoms -- results in degenerative disease of the brain (CTE) among high school and collegiate football players leading to the conclusion that the Port Jefferson Football Program produces a potential risk to our children's health and well-being which may be too great to chance.

Christopher Noblit
Approximately 12 minutes
January 9, 2018

I want to thank the Port Jefferson Board of Education for the opportunity to speak tonight. Our community is fortunate to have a noteworthy school district, and I want to thank each of you for your work to ensure that it remains a safe and rigorous academic environment.

I am a Port Jefferson resident and the father of two children who graduated from our high school. Neither of my children played football. I myself played football in grades 8 through 12 and, to the best of my knowledge; I do not suffer from CTE. My only interest in this matter is a genuine concern for the safety and the well-being of our community's children, and nothing more.

I have submitted a copy of these remarks, along with the works I've cited, to each board member who is present tonight. For those in the audience who would like to download a PDF copy of these remarks, please visit www.pjcte.com.

In addition, please note that these remarks borrow heavily from Ms. Tara Haelle's forbes.com article titled “Is Football Worth Gambling With High School and College Players' Brains?“ [Citation 2] A copy of Ms. Haelle's article can be found herein, and which I urge everyone with an interest in this matter to read.

Boston University's CTE Research Center is a leading authority on degenerative brain disease and teaches that “Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma (often athletes), including symptomatic concussions as well as asymptomatic subconcussive hits to the head that do not cause symptoms...CTE is not limited to professional athletes; it has also been found in athletes who did not play sports after high school or college...The symptoms of CTE generally do not present until years or decades after the brain trauma occurred...At this time CTE can only be diagnosed after death by postmortem neuropathological analysis...there is no known way to use MRI, CT, or other brain imaging methods to diagnose CTE.” [Citation 3]

In her article, Ms. Haelle writes that “it is now well established that a career in professional football puts players at high risk for developing CTE, which results in severe mood and behavioral symptoms, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, suicidal attempts, explosive anger and similar problems.” [Citation 2] One study diagnosed 99% of NFL players studied as having suffered from CTE. [Citation 4] Ms. Haelle goes on to write that “a recent 2017 study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), adds to the available evidence. What's less clear is how much risk of CTE might exist for high school or college football players.” [Citation 2] and “of the 202 deceased players examined in this study, two (2) played football before high school, fourteen (14) played only in high school and fifty three (53) played through college. Neither of the pre-high school players had evidence of CTE, but 21% of the high school players did, and 91% of the college players did.” [Citation 2]

As Ms. Haelle writes, it is sobering to note that “56% of the college players in the study had severe CTE, with symptoms similar to those among the NFL players. The three high school players and the remaining 44% of the college players with CTE had mild cases. Considering high school and college players represent a majority of the mild cases, it is worth noting how devastating even mild cases can be: 85% of players with mild CTE had clinical symptoms that worsened over time, and 96% had behavioral and/or mood symptoms. About two thirds (67%) had symptoms of depression and just over half (52%) had anxiety symptoms.” [Citation 2]

Please refer to Ms. Haelle's article (Citation No. 2), the 2017 CTE study published by JAMA (Citation No. 5), and the other attached reference documents for deeper examination of CTE.

Ms. Haelle writes that “Bennet Omalu, M.D., a forensic neuropathologist and chief medical examiner for San Joaquin County in California, first identified CTE in American football players when it had previously only been seen in boxers.” [Citation 2]

During a recent talk Dr. Omalu said this: “Adults are free to do whatever they want to do, as long as they have educated consent. But children, no. And we've always done that whenever we identify a possible risk factor. What we do as a society is protect children from being exposed to such risk factors. We do that with cigarette smoking. We did that with alcohol. Why not football, which is more dangerous? We wouldn't let children smoke a cigarette, but then send them to a football field to sustain concussions?” [Citation 6]

You will find Dr. Omalu's complete remarks in Citation No. 6.

It must be noted that are those who, driven by self-interest, have attempted to minimize and/or deny and/or manipulate the existence of, or study of, CTE. [Citation 7] [Citation 12] Others have tried to use the issue of football related CTE for political purposes. [Citation 8]

Ladies and gentlemen, CTE is real. CTE is not a political issue. CTE is not fake news. CTE has been confirmed by real science, and it has the potential to have a very real and profound impact on the health and well-being of many of the children who participate in our district football program.

Michigan State coach Duffy Daugherty once declared that “football isn't a contact sport, it is a collision sport,” and in fact every single play run by the Port Jefferson football team is designed to have children execute violent collisions with each other. I am certain there are some who might suggest that, since a baseball play, or a car accident, might also cause a concussion, would I also have us outlaw cars and baseball? These arguments are false equivalencies, and my answer is that if every single baseball play resulted in a violent collision (as does football) -- and if every single trip driven in a car resulted in a violent collision (as does football) -- then yes...I would apply my argument to cars and baseball.

The district's affiliation with St. Charles Hospital and Orthopedic Associates of LI to develop concussion management programs, work with the Impact Neurocognitive Assessment Tool, and the district's participation in the Center For Disease Control's “HEADS UP to Youth Sports” online concussion training -- while of value -- is often irrelevant because “more than half of high school athletes with concussions play despite their symptoms, and often their coaches aren't aware of the injury.” [Citation 9] In fact, “athletes continue to underreport concussion even when they know the signs and symptoms and that they risk serious injury if they continue to play with a concussion or return too soon from injury.” [Citation 10] Furthermore, as a recent report stated, “There is still a culture among athletes that resists both the self-reporting of concussions and compliance with appropriate concussion management plans. It's a culture where the idea is to man up, to not let your teammates or coach down, and play with your symptoms...and because concussions are not graphic, like a bloodied nose or a broken leg, players hide their symptoms and continue to play.” [Citation 11]

Concussion awareness, staff and athlete education programs, and management plans are important, but our children need us to stop concussions...not create and then manage them.

Our school district is noted for its academic achievement. Why are we devoting much needed financial capital to a sport which research suggests may well damage our children's brains and, as a result, their future emotional and intellectual well-being? It may be worth asking ourselves -- after being introduced to football by the Port Jefferson school district -- how many of our children continue on to play collegiate football which would increase their likelihood of acquiring CTE; is one child damaged not one child too many?

Perhaps it is time for our school district to consider reallocating the funds presently attached to football to other less damaging sports programs, sports which offer our children the same team and character-building benefits which are often attributed to American football.

I want to close by remembering that at last month's board meeting a football coach stood here and told us that in the past year our youth football program enrolled 50-plus children who played 16 games without one single concussion. I remind those who believe this statement that asymptomatic subconcussive hits to the head do not cause symptoms. They cause CTE. And, according to one survey; “69% of those with concussions reported playing with symptoms and 40% reported that their coach was unaware of their concussion.” [Citation 9]

Ladies and gentlemen -- members of the board of education -- we have before us compelling and accumulating evidence that when we knowingly and willfully allow a child to play football, we are endangering that child. I believe that no adult -- not a parent, not a coach, and not a member of the board of education -- should make such a potentially life-altering decision for a child. I ask everyone to put aside our political bias, address this issue in good faith, start reading research, concentrate on our children's well-being, and consider discontinuing our district football program before we do any further damage.

Thank you for your time.

Works Cited:

(PDF copies of each work cited are provided on the pages which follow)
  1. Boston University CTE Center. (October 17, 2015). Image of chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chronic_Traumatic_Encephalopathy.png

  2. Haelle, T. (July 26, 2017). Is Football Worth Gambling With High School And College Players' Brains? Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/tarahaelle/2017/07/26/is-football-worth-gambling-with-high-school-and-college-players-brains/

  3. Frequently Asked Questions about CTE. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bu.edu/cte/about/frequently-asked-questions

  4. Ward, J., Williams, J., Manchester, S. (July 25, 2017). 111 N.F.L. Brains. All But One Had C.T.E. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/25/sports/football/nfl-cte.html

  5. Mez, J., Daneshvar, D. H., Kiernan, P.T. (July 25, 2017). Clinicopathological Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Players of American Football. Retrieved from https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2645104

  6. Cyrgalis, B. (August 8, 2017). 'Concussion' doctor: No such thing as 'making football safer'. Retrieved from https://nypost.com/2017/08/07/concussion-doctor-no-such-thing-as-making-football-safer/

  7. The Disinformation Playbook - Union of Concerned Scientists. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ucsusa.org/our-work/center-science-and-democracy/disinformation-playbook

  8. Guarino, B. (October 16, 2016). Trump knocks softer NFL rules: Concussions - Uh oh, got a little ding on the head?. Retrieved from https://nypost.com/2017/08/07/concussion-doctor-no-such-thing-as-making-football-safer/

  9. Doyle, K. (February 25, 2014). High school athletes often playing with concussions. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-high-school-athletes-concussions/high-school-athletes-often-playing-with-concussions-idUSBREA2D1AL20140314

  10. DeLench, B. (October 23, 2015). Athletes' Resistance To Self-Reporting of Concussion Continues Despite Increased Education. Retrieved from http://www.momsteam.com/health-safety/athletes-resistance-to-self-reporting-concussion-continues-despite-increased-education

  11. Hoffman, J. 'Don't Tell Coach': Playing Through Concussions. (November 5, 2018). Retrieved from https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/dont-tell-coach-playing-through-concussions/

  12. Schwarz, A. N.F.L.-Backed Youth Program Says It Reduced Concussions. The Data Disagrees. (July 27, 2016). Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/28/sports/football/nfl-concussions-youth-program-heads-up-football.html
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