I'm a big time Dallas fan. Really sad to hear this. Tony was one of the best to ever wear the stars for Dallas.


http://espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/story/_/id...going-this

Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett, who was diagnosed with having signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in 2013, said he is "in a battle" and that he had no idea "that the end was going to be like this."

CTE is a degenerative condition many scientists say is caused by head trauma and is linked to depression and dementia. It is indicated by a buildup of tau, an abnormal protein that strangles brain cells in areas that control memory, emotions and other functions.

[+] EnlargeTony Dorsett
AP Photo/Martha IrvineTony Dorsett, who rushed for more than 12,000 yards with the Dallas Cowboys, said he is still "in the battle" with CTE and hopes that "we can reverse this thing somehow."

Dorsett was diagnosed along with Joe DeLamielleure and Leonard Marshall in November 2013 after undergoing brain scans and clinical evaluations at UCLA.

"I signed up for this when, I guess, I started playing football so many years ago," Dorsett told 1310 The Ticket in Dallas. "But, obviously, not knowing that the end was going to be like this. But I love the game. The game was good to me. It's just unfortunate that I'm going through what I'm going through.

"I'm in the fight, man. I'm not just laying around letting this overtake me. I'm fighting. I'm in the battle. I'm hoping we can reverse this thing somehow."

The 60-year-old Dorsett, the 1976 Heisman Trophy winner who played with the Dallas Cowboys and is the NFL's eighth all-time leading rusher, has struggled with his memory and has said in the past that he had trouble controlling his emotions and was prone to outbursts at his wife and daughters.

"It's very frustrating at times for me. I've got a good team of people around me, my wife and kids, who work with me," he said. "When you've been in this town for so long and I have to go to some place I've been going to for many, many, many years, and then all of a sudden I forget how to get there. Those things are frustrating when it comes to those things.

"I understand that I'm combating it, trying to get better. But, you know, some days are good. Some days are bad."

Very sad. Hopefully the league puts its actions and money behind its claims that it is dedicated to cutting edge research, treatment, and support of it. The league is capable, despite of its past denials, of making a difference. One example is in spinal injuries. It's been puzzling their history of resistant denial. It didn't have to come to this apparent abandonment of the players who paved the way for the multibillion dollar industry. Hopefully these players are early enough in the declne that research uncovers treatment that can minimize its progress.

I hope to see policy that involves fully-informed consent to play. This weekend ESPN Radio had a program (I think it was Outside the Lines) that referenced falling participation in Pop Warner. It's been expected, but endangers the future of the league if the trend doesn't stop.

(02-09-2015 03:47 PM)kabluey Wrote:  Very sad. Hopefully the league puts its actions and money behind its claims that it is dedicated to cutting edge research, treatment, and support of it. The league is capable, despite of its past denials, of making a difference. One example is in spinal injuries. It's been puzzling their history of resistant denial. It didn't have to come to this apparent abandonment of the players who paved the way for the multibillion dollar industry. Hopefully these players are early enough in the declne that research uncovers treatment that can minimize its progress.

I hope to see policy that involves fully-informed consent to play. This weekend ESPN Radio had a program (I think it was Outside the Lines) that referenced falling participation in Pop Warner. It's been expected, but endangers the future of the league if the trend doesn't stop.

Yeah, there's def the possibility that football can become boxing at some point. Think the NFL is aware though so they're gonna do everything they can to stop the bleeding.