Unlike NFL, group tackles ex-players’ trauma issues

The worst days are when he remains inside, away from friends and family and others who might glance in his direction, away from the world. The headaches still hit him like a linebacker with the perfect angle, and the mood swings from calm to rage are always a breath away.

He doesn't remember things that well.

How ironic. A guy who was once a member of an NFL receiving corps known as the "Fun Bunch" hasn't enjoyed much of it since departing the game.

"It has been very, very difficult," Charlie Brown said. "It has changed my entire life."

We are hearing from both sides of this debate, how prevalent some believe chronic traumatic encephalopathy is in former NFL players who had concussions during their careers and how others insist it's impossible to determine CTE is the reason some suffer from severe depression and, in a few tragic cases, take their own lives.

How some are convinced CTE played a major role in the likes of Andre Waters and Dave Duerson and Junior Seau pointing guns at themselves and pulling the triggers and others chastising such thoughts as concocted and ignorant.

Charlie Brown just knows he is, at times, afraid.

He also has no idea how many concussions he suffered as an NFL player.

"I got knocked around a lot," he said, "and that was just in practice."

He was part of a group of former NFL players to take part in a workshop Friday in Las Vegas, one offered by the P.A.S.T. Retired Athletes Medical Resource Group, which along with Eternity Medicine Institute of Las Vegas has partnered to develop a comprehensive concussion treatment program for all retired NFL players and other former athletes.

Brown is 53 and a longtime patient of P.A.S.T. - Pain Alternatives, Solutions and Treatment - who suffers from debilitating concussion issues, whose life with the Redskins and Falcons included two Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl XVII ring as a rookie for Washington in the 1982-83 season, whose life after football often has been defined by dark and unsure thoughts.

"The NFL gave me the life I always dreamed of," he said. "But the reality is, something needs to be done about (CTE). Hopefully, with all that P.A.S.T. is doing to help retired players get the proper treatment, the league will also support treating those suffering the most.

"We are out there, as evidenced by what happened with Junior Seau. If more isn't done, more guys will end up like that. I'm convinced of it."

This isn't the first time we have heard about how little the NFL takes care of its own once players depart the field of play, be it through disability plans or medical plans or pensions. The league does an awful job looking after those who paved the way for today's riches. Always has.

I'm not sure a death such as Seau's will change that but am convinced others care. P.A.S.T. has provided more than $4 million of pro bono services to retired professional athletes who qualify for its program, independent of the seemingly disinterested NFL offices.

"The league is making fabulous strides in terms of early intervention for (concussion issues) with today's players at all levels, from high school to college to the NFL, but that's not happening with the retired guys," said Jennifer Smith, director of player programs for P.A.S.T. "They're not benefiting at all. I just don't see the programs for them. These are long-term, expensive things. This isn't just about replacing a knee or a shoulder.

"We're about giving a guy like Charlie Brown five good days in a week instead of just one good day. We've seen hundreds of players, and I would say 80 percent of them have a cluster of symptoms that point to postconcussion issues. If treatment begins right when players leave the game, things can be done to prevent cognitive decline. It's all about being proactive and getting out in front of those symptoms that often begin slowly and smolder there for years or decades before surfacing."

I don't know for certain why Waters and Duerson and Seau reached such a pitch-black place in their minds to pull that trigger, but I understand the suicide rate of NFL players is six times the national average, that many can't cope with the transition to real life after glory, that they feel depressed and isolated and angry and in denial once the cheering stops.

Charlie Brown is getting help. P.A.S.T. and Eternity Medicine have seen to that. So, too, are countless other athletes in the program.

You pray it's enough, that while there is no chance of totally preventing head injuries to those who make a living in the violent world that is the NFL, early detection and treatment might bring them a sense of normalcy.

"We're about providing a lot of hope for a lot of guys, many who have seen a significant reduction in symptoms through our program," Smith said. "We have seen enough to say, 'Yes, this is a concussion issue.' Symptoms don't hit you over the head. Some guys don't even realize it's happening before it's too late.

"We want to continue focusing on fixing and treating these guys."

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on "Gridlock," ESPN 1100 and 98.9 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.