Football and Dementia

[Wymsey]

Kenny Sansom is revealed to have a form of it, following other footballers from his career period and before.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55222729

 

You do worry that this trend will continue, but can't imagine heading being banned at all in the game if many more ex-professionals get diagnosed with it.

[Alf Bentley]

The particular illness that Sansom reportedly has is closely linked to alcohol abuse: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernicke–Korsakoff_syndrome#Alcoholic_Korsakoff_syndrome

 

It's well known that Sansom has had major issues with excess boozing since he retired - so, in his case, more likely to be connected to that? 

I don't mean that judgmentally - as a former heavy boozer myself.

 

I'm sure analysis and debate of the wider issue will continue. Let's hope it mainly dates back to an earlier era (1960s players and earlier) when balls got very heavy when wet - and not to more recent players.

[stripeyfox]

I think we are a way off it actually happening (at least at senior levels) but can you imagine what the game would look like without heading?

[Fox92]

15 minutes ago, stripeyfox said:

I think we are a way off it actually happening (at least at senior levels) but can you imagine what the game would look like without heading?

That's the issue. People surely can't be against heading. I keep seeing Shearer mention the heading issue.

 

Surely everybody has known constantly hitting your head against something has some sort of negative effect.

[SpacedX]

4 hours ago, Fox92 said:

Surely everybody has known constantly hitting your head against something has some sort of negative effect.

Absolutely. Try introducing the notion of independently verifiable science over opinion on the coronavirus thread...

 

Edited 8 December 2020 by Line-X

[Bryn]

17 hours ago, Wymsey said:

Kenny Sansom is revealed to have a form of it, following other footballers from his career period and before.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55222729

 

You do worry that this trend will continue, but can't imagine heading being banned at all in the game if many more ex-professionals get diagnosed with it.

 

As has been said previously this is actually really poor of the BBC, it's sad in it's own right but is not relevant to the discussion about head trauma in football and they really ought to do better.

[Sampson]

Yeah this kind of thing coming out recently has been a little heartbreaking.

Seems to be an even bigger problem in rugby sadly. Saw an article on the BBC website yesterday about 15 former international rugby players who'd been diagnosed with dementia as early as their early 40s.

Including Steve Thompson who was part of England's 2003 rugby world cup winning side, who said he can't remember any of England's World Cup games anymore

Edited 9 December 2020 by Sampson

[Wymsey]

Post-mortem results indicate that Nobby Stiles died from Dementia, via likely numerous blows to the head.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55389944

[Fox92]

2 hours ago, Wymsey said:

Post-mortem results indicate that Nobby Stiles died from Dementia, via likely numerous blows to the head.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55389944

He was diagnosed with it before he died wasn't he?

 

Yes of course heading a ball contributes to it, but like I said above a month ago, hitting your head on anything is always gonna have a negative effect. It's such a soft area. We saw recently Jminez fracture his skull after a collision with another human being. Hitting your head anywhere, even at work/at home etc, is so so dangerous.

 

But heading a football is part of the game and has been for hundreds of years. Like everything, the more we progress the more we learn but you can't take heading out of the game as it would be so strange. Minds well stop crossing and set pieces too.

Edited 21 December 2020 by Fox92

[Izzy]

Gordon McQueen diagnosed too.

 

I've no idea if it's related to heading old heavy balls or if there's just more awareness/science these days, but it's sad how many ex players this is effecting now. 

 

Gordon McQueen: Former Scotland, Manchester United & Leeds defender diagnosed with dementia

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56168698

 

McQueen's former Leeds team-mate Jack Charlton died with dementia last year and it was confirmed in recent months that Sir Bobby Charlton has been diagnosed with the disease. Three more members of England's 1966 World Cup-winning squad have also been found to have dementia.

 

[Wymsey]

24 minutes ago, Izzy said:

Gordon McQueen diagnosed too.

 

I've no idea if it's related to heading old heavy balls or if there's just more awareness/science these days, but it's sad how many ex players this is effecting now. 

 

Gordon McQueen: Former Scotland, Manchester United & Leeds defender diagnosed with dementia

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56168698

 

McQueen's former Leeds team-mate Jack Charlton died with dementia last year and it was confirmed in recent months that Sir Bobby Charlton has been diagnosed with the disease. Three more members of England's 1966 World Cup-winning squad have also been found to have dementia.

 

Sad.

 

It seems like a bit of a trend now, ex-footballers from that era having such diagnosis.

-

Read an article on the BBC Football page today how a young footballer, who played for Peterborough, suffered a seizure heading a ball and got diagnosed with some head trauma condition.

[Guest Lcfc82]

Plenty of people who have never played football have died with dementia. I don’t see why there desperate to link football to it.

[ozleicester]

Dad was a centre half through the 50s60s70s... died years ago with dementia.

I grew up and played through 70s-90s. Those water logged 70s leather balls were like medicine balls and remember many many brain rattling and neck shuddering headers. Especially as a centre half back when the keeper would belt it over the halfway line and i would head it back.

No question in my (admittedly now slightly addled) mind that those years of heading balls that would have weighed more than a couple of kilos damaged my dads brain and most likely mine.

I dont want heading removed, and the much much lighter balls play a huge part.. but we as a society need to look at this problem.
 

[Fox92]

Denis Law reveals he's got it

 

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/12385148/denis-law-man-utd-and-scotland-legend-diagnosed-with-mixed-dementia

 

Quote

Denis Law has been diagnosed with both Alzheimer's and vascular dementia;

 

[gerblod]

On 07/12/2020 at 23:11, Wymsey said:

Kenny Sansom is revealed to have a form of it, following other footballers from his career period and before.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55222729

 

You do worry that this trend will continue, but can't imagine heading being banned at all in the game if many more ex-professionals get diagnosed with it.

I'm quite shocked to see that this thread you began has only had this few responses.

I did a topic search of 'dementia+ball+heading' - yours was the first appropriate topic found and that was really initiated about Kenny Sansom's alcohol related diseases.

I played my first team football in the mid-late sixties. I tried to head the ball, but as a winger, I didn't have much opportunity and I was ever glad of that because I found it painful and difficult.

Now I'm very glad I didn't practice or persevere. Just like I never did with fags.

This morning it's been revealed that Dave Watson now has problems with brain function and a guy I cannot recall, Bill Gates.

The high-level players like McQueen, the Charltons, Stiles, Astle and those other famous players who will choose to remain in the background are the tip of the iceberg. There will be a procession of players from now on whose mental difficulties will be linked to heading.

The thing is, where will it end? To kid ourselves that the modern football is going to magic this problem away is self-deceiving. We, the fans, owe it to our players to ask if heading the ball is completely harmless and if it ain't then should it not be either banned or some form of protective shock-absorbing headgear be made obligatory?

If players' health is going to be ignored because we still want heading to be part of the game then aren't we tacitly colluding with the powers-that-be in contributing to their later problems?

I admire the great City ball-headers (like Jamie Scowcroft for instance)  but would hate the idea that they were suffering in later years from having participated in a damaging facet of football.