The NY Times is reporting this afternoon that Gay Culverhouse, the daughter of former Tampa Bay Buccaneer owner Hugh Culverhouse, will testify before the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow to talk about the prevalence of head injuries in the National Football League.
A recent analysis suggested that NFL retirees between the ages of 60 to 89 are experiencing moderate to severe dementia at several times the national rate. But top officials with the NFL have been obstinate in refusing to embrace such reports.
Days before the Super Bowl in Tampa last January, medical researchers said that former Buc Tom McHale's death last year at the age of 45 may be connected to concussions received during his playing days – which would make him the 6th deceased former NFL player 50 years of age or younger to have such brain damage.
As I reported on from that news conference, doctors at Boston University’s School of Medicine found a condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in McHale’s brain. Doctors had ruled his death an accidental overdose.
Apparently Ms. Culverhouse has been in close contact with many former Buccaneer players, and learning that many of them are having cognitive difficulties. She tells the Times:
“Telling the players that football has nothing to do with it is literally adding insult to injury,” Culverhouse said. “It’s a joke. It’s unconscionable.”
This article appears in Oct 22-28, 2009.