NFLPA Press Conference Regarding Head Injuries

NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith and Medical Director Dr. Thom Mayer meet the media to discuss the latest development related to head injuries and football. KEYWORDS: NFL PLAYERS, football, sport, helmet, ball, fun, game, retired, former, heroes, greats, legends, TV, real, Super Bowl, DeMaurice Smith, De, Thom Mayer, Doc, Doctor, Dr., injury, injured, head, concussion

Scott Peters - Former NFL Player Talks Brain Injuries

PHOENIX - Former football star Dave Duerson finished his football career in Arizona. Sadly, Duerson was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest just days ago. He may have shot himself in the chest to protect his brain, which he asked to be given to scientists for research. Comments from Duerson's family suggest he may have been suffering from memory loss and early signs of cognitive decline. To further understand the depth of concern about brain injuries, Jude La Cava spoke with former NFL player Scott Peters. Peters played nearly a decade as an offensive lineman and spent some of his time with the Arizona Cardinals. Now, he's speaking out on the injuries brought on by helmet-to-helmet contact and concussions. He says brain trauma and cognitive decline are huge concerns for retired players, and the NFL needs to address it. "You're demolishing your body for cash... the NFL has been denying the significance of head injuries since day one," he says.

Documenting Sports Injuries

My roommate in college was a varsity scholar playing in the university's basketball team. His dream of making it to the nationals being a very good player himself was shattered when he experienced sports injuries. I on the other hand was able to capture it on video. But his will was too strong to be put down by the incident. Instead it sparked him an idea.

After months of rehabilitation and recovery he told me that we should put up a website to contain videos of different sports injuries. I was knowledgeable in web design and programming so I agreed. I also saw it as an opportunity to hone my skills in video documentary. It took us less than a month and the website was up only missing the videos.

Searching for sports events and sports injuries became our shared passion. We were invited one time to cover a major football event in Nashville. We came to the location and we were overwhelmed by the crowd. What's even more overwhelming was the size of one of the players playing as the team's defense. My video camera was rolling when the player tackled three players at one time. One the players he tackled lost his helmet and he was crushed by another player's helmet.

The player's face was covered in blood and he got a broken nose and his jaw was obviously dislocated. The medical team scrammed to the field to get him. The crowd was silenced by possibly one of the worst sports injuries they have ever witnessed. I uploaded the video to our website and true enough, many were shocked by the event. It became a big news online.

After receiving raves and comments, we went to another sports event in San Francisco to capture sports injuries. There was a basketball championship. Fans from the opposing team came in the stadium filled with zeal and excitement. The star player from one of the team who was known for his slam dunks attempted to wow the crowd with his signature move. The opposition couldn't let it happen so their master blocker tried to prevent the dunk. But instead of blocking the ball, he hit the dunker's face with massive force.

The loud crowd was also in still when the player fell on the floor with a thud. The players cleared the scene for the medics to treat the player. He was unconscious the whole time.

He was brought to the hospital and we were advised that he was in comatose after an internal bleeding in his brain. Like the other video it was also claimed as one the worst sports injurys ever caught on record.