Research regarding the impact of brain injuries in football and elsewhere will continue decades into the future, and one of the best defensive linemen in league history will be helping the effort.
Hall of Famer Warren Sapp announced in a video posted by ThePlayersTribune.com that he’ll be donating his brain for research aimed at understanding the effects of football. Upon his passing, the Concussion Legacy Foundation will study his brain for evidence and insights into trauma arising from years of playing football.
“I wanted this game to be better when I left than when I got into it,” Sapp said.
An email from former NFL running back Fred Willis became the catalyst for Sapp’s decision. Sapp explains in the video that the email that contained quotes from NFL owners.
“I mean down the line you could see it,” Sapp said. “‘There’s no correlation between football, CTE, suicides, and all these foolish stuff.’ I mean, where are you getting this information from and then spewing it out as if it’s fact?”
The fact is that Sapp played football at a time when things were a lot more rough and tumble than they now are.
“I remember those month-long training camps when we just banged and banged and hit, and it was who is tough?” Sapp said. “And misery loves company and all of the foolish sayings we used to say to each other. I mean, it was just bad. It was Neanderthals. We were dinosaurs. We were doing Oklahoma drills, bull in the ring, all the crazy stuff that was just about a tough guy. It wasn’t how much skills you had. It was just the bare bones of bone on bone, and that’s not what this game should be. It’s about skills.”
Sapp admitted that he’s having memory struggles at age 44.
I'm guessing Sapp's might be the smallest specimen medical science will be having to work with ... provided they can find it
