Jason Hairston of KUIU passed away today

[Broomd]

I don't think this is limited to high school, college level and pro's. I started playing football when I was 8 years old. From the very first day of tackling you were taught to lead with your head. That the helmet will protect you. We did tackling drills called "head on" where one kid would lay with the football, the other 10 yards away. When the whistle blew, you got up as fast as possible and ran staight into each other. Our first helmets were just pads inside that you had to break to form around your head. Quite a few kids would quit due to how bad it hurt.

Everyone talks about guys being bigger, stronger, faster in the NFL every year. What about the young kids that are running as fast as they can, hitting head on, while their brains are still developing? No one ever mentions youth football. It's always a guy from the NFL has been found to have CTE.



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And what many don't realize is that the trauma doesn't come from the head hitting the helmet, it is the brain hitting the inside of the skull. My twin sis is an emergency room doctor and she broke it down for me, she said that the absolute worst possibility is at least two immediate hits with the brain hitting the inside of the skull. With one hit, the brain can heal. More than once and the damage is exponential given the already injured tissue.
Think how often that happens for any football player, soccer player, BOXER!....

 

[Shrek]

I played Football from 3rd - 12th grade. 2 Concussions, 1 slipped vertebrae.
It was a great time but now I'm paying the price. If I had to do it over again
I would have just spent more time in the woods / on the water.
This was back in the early 80's, the mentality was different. They wouldn't let us have
water during practice to toughen us up. I think about it now and it just blows my mind.

This is what I grew up with. It wasn’t even a great time imo and I quit after one year at the HS level. I’m in Florida and even back then it was all year really. Spring practice and then two a days in August. You were unofficially expected to hang out and lift weights in the “offseason”. Coaches offices were where they could watch. They’d also hook you up with steroids. I look back and realize the coaches didn’t give a shit about us really. Just what you could do to win games.

 

[rcb2000]

Jason Hairston'''s Wife Speaks Out About CTE Following His Suicide | PEOPLE.com

This is heartbreaking, I can’t even imagine how hard it is for his wife and especially his son.

 

[BeastOfTheTrees]

RIP..... backcountry community is small already don’t need to lose people leading the movement..... feelings for the family

 

[oenanthe]

I'm deeply saddened by this news. Concussions and their cumulative damage are no joke.

Sincere condolences to Jason's friends and family.

 

[Poser]

I didn’t save the link, but the Aspen Sports Institute released a study this week recommending that kids play flag football until 14, offering kids a chance to learn the fundamentals of the game and tackling techniques to be taught in a Jr Varsity setting.

 

[netman]

I played football from 3rd grade all the way through college as a lineman . Then I competed in Judo. I just retired from LE with a career nearly 30 years. I know I have had several concussions in football. And concussions in the line of duty ranging from wrecks to physical contact with suspects.
I am 54 yoa and know I have issues from these head injuries. Irregular bouts of depression would be one. Emotional swings another.
What would you suggest a person start with in speaking with a doctor to monitor brain injury?
My daughter is a radiology technologist and told my wife aka her mother that I have spots on my brain that are not good.
I’m asking for myself and for those who may not want to ask or not share their injuries.
Thanks

 

[timekiller13]

I didn’t save the link, but the Aspen Sports Institute released a study this week recommending that kids play flag football until 14, offering kids a chance to learn the fundamentals of the game and tackling techniques to be taught in a Jr Varsity setting.

Kind of off topic, but I am willing to bet in the next 20 years, you will see tackle football go away completely even up to a Pro Level. All it takes is to raise an entire generation without tackling and soon it will be gone. You are already starting to see more and more penalties and more protection for players in the College and NFL level. Kids in my area don't start tackle football until middle school. Talk is they are going to change it high school only, soon.

Very sad to hear of his passing, despite what people may have thought of his gear or his business practices, he was an innovator without a doubt.

 

[Bubblehide]

I played football from 3rd grade all the way through college as a lineman . Then I competed in Judo. I just retired from LE with a career nearly 30 years. I know I have had several concussions in football. And concussions in the line of duty ranging from wrecks to physical contact with suspects.
I am 54 yoa and know I have issues from these head injuries. Irregular bouts of depression would be one. Emotional swings another.
What would you suggest a person start with in speaking with a doctor to monitor brain injury?
My daughter is a radiology technologist and told my wife aka her mother that I have spots on my brain that are not good.
I’m asking for myself and for those who may not want to ask or not share their injuries.
Thanks

I've held back in responding to this thread so not to make any projection about Jason Hairston.
I'm a psychologist with a school district. I just got done with an assessment meet on a student that had a serious concussion barely over two years ago. The student had neuropsych assessment after the concussion with suspected diminished cognitive functioning and visual processing, along with some mood swings and personality changes (pretty normal and expected). Well now to today, with current assessment 2 years after the incident, the student tests out with cognition in the superior to very superior range, with visual processing in the average range and a relative weakness for the student; but definitely not a deficit.

I had also experienced a severe concussion 15 or so years ago, and also played defensive end in high school football (with John Elway if that means anything to anyone). It took me about 3 years to fully heal. 6 months after my concussion I was still experiencing short times of just mentally checking out. Meaning my body was there, but my mind, well it just turned off. My only explanation is that it was the body's/minds way of saying enough, it's time to rest. In short I was incapable of fully functioning at my profession for 3+ years. I did not return to my field for 5 years. I was fortunate that I had other skills, and I went to work for a general contractor friend of mine that was very understanding, and he allowed me to start with just working one day a week (all I could take at the time), and work up to full time.

When someone experiences such a serious injury, they simply start to question who they now are. I for one went to the gamut of emotions, and searching my soul for who I now was, as at the time, I was now unsure of who I was and what I could possible do. Since I had other physical injuries that came with my concussion, I had some significant physical limitations also. To but it simply, I was grieving the loss of who I was, the man I was... And I had no idea who I was anymore, at the time I had simply lost that much. My back-country adventures simply came to a stop, because I was not capable any longer, and I did know if I would ever get the ability back. Somewhere along that very slow arduous healing path, I decided to make the 5 hour drive to one of my hunting areas, because I thought I healed enough, and I was simply starving for the outdoors. Long story short is that zI did well going, but as soon as I turned around to go back to the truck, I could no longer lift my feet off the ground to walk. But, I could drag them, 2 to 3 steps at a time, rest for a minute and do it again... Long story short, I was out there all night, when I had told my wife to expect be back for a late dinner, and on the way back to the truck, I was stalked by a lion. There was nothing I could do, except turn toward it, and let the pain escaped my mouth as I slid my feel across the dirt, as fast as I could. It felt like I was heading straight for it's mouth, and a part of me wanted the cat to take me. But that was the last I saw of, my headlamp never lit those eyes up again that night. And, I finally did make it back to my truck.

My point with telling my experience (briefly) was to illustrate the emotional roller-coaster one goes through; but one's family is on a parallel roller-coaster. But to get to the medical end of this. Concussions, especially multiple concussions are know to be associated with (cause) plaque build-up in the brain similar to Alzheimer's and Dementia, but the build-up can be much more rapid. I suspect that in Jason's case, he was aware of his mental decline and on that rollercoaster of emotion. Despite my experience, I can only imagine what he and his family have gone through, and his family continues to go through, and likely will continue to.

However, we should keep in mind that the vast majority of people that experience a concussion, recover and live healthy lives. But through research and tracking, we also know that the brains healing process can last up to 3 years, with some evidence of continued healing (rises in cognitive function) beyond 3 years. The whole concept here has to do with neuroplasticity, and each case is very individual with some recovery being astonishing, considering the functional levels at onset.

As for netman, your first question should be, what are those spots? as they could be a lot of things. But that question should be to a Neurologist or a Radiologist, with the Neurologist capable of providing the most insight.

 

[netman]

I see my doctor in November. I’m going to spend some time speaking to him about this and see if he will make a referral.
I have other symptoms but don’t want to lay them out on a forum.

 

[philos]

Just today my neighbor's son hung himself from the back deck across the street. My neighbor found him before his mom got home-Thank God.

This happens more than we know. Please try to keep up with fiends and family and reach out to someone if you are feeling serious depression yourself.

 

[Bobbyboe]

netman, being in the law enforcement profession myself I can guess on some other symptoms you are dealing with. Please reach out to your local resources or personal support system. If you’re by chance in Wisconsin, we have POST available for you.

Thank you for your service and don’t be afraid to talk with professionals or people you trust. Best wishes.

 

[TWGator]

I played football from 3rd grade all the way through college as a lineman . Then I competed in Judo. I just retired from LE with a career nearly 30 years. I know I have had several concussions in football. And concussions in the line of duty ranging from wrecks to physical contact with suspects.
I am 54 yoa and know I have issues from these head injuries. Irregular bouts of depression would be one. Emotional swings another.
What would you suggest a person start with in speaking with a doctor to monitor brain injury?
My daughter is a radiology technologist and told my wife aka her mother that I have spots on my brain that are not good.
I’m asking for myself and for those who may not want to ask or not share their injuries.
Thanks

I don’t suffer from any of this but I have found interviews with Dr Mark Gordan on Joe Rogans show very informative. He talks about the brains ability to produce certain hormones and how you can add them back to your body. He has probably been on the show 4-5 times, here is a link to one of them

The Joe Rogan Experience by Joe Rogan on Apple Podcasts

And here is some more info on him, I have no idea if this is the best path for you or anyone else but i hope it helps

Traumatic Brain Injury Help

 

[boom]

RIP Jason.

prayers to his family. and i hope he found the peace he was looking for. he was a nice guy.

 

[5MilesBack]

It's kind of mindboggling as we watch the NFL ruin a once fine game with all the new rules and penalties, and then all you have to do is watch one replay of a game from the 90's and before and realize that back then even the punters were wearing bigger pads than even the lineman today. They might as well ditch the pads altogether as small as they've gotten. And no one in the NFL administration can figure this out?

 

[lacofdfireman]

Kind of off topic, but I am willing to bet in the next 20 years, you will see tackle football go away completely even up to a Pro Level. All it takes is to raise an entire generation without tackling and soon it will be gone. You are already starting to see more and more penalties and more protection for players in the College and NFL level. Kids in my area don't start tackle football until middle school. Talk is they are going to change it high school only, soon.

Very sad to hear of his passing, despite what people may have thought of his gear or his business practices, he was an innovator without a doubt.

I actually heard on the radio the about a year ago a person saying in Texas where football is huge in high school was starting to be a low income sport. Affluent parents were not allowing their kids to play because of the lifelong damage that can be done. Besides the odds of your kid playing past high school level is pretty low. And unless your some kind of super athlete your chances of injury of some type are high and it wasn’t worth the risk. Football isn’t typically a sport played by the masses past high school for most like, Basketball, baseball, tennis and other non contact sports. I thought it was an interesting listen at the time. Even more so now.

My kids have participated in racing mountain bikes for their local High School. It’s hands down the best athletic program in School these days. Something they can do the rest of their lives. There is no bench, everyone races and you get out what you put into it. In Utah it’s the fastest growing High School Sport by far. I believe it started around 7 years ago here with about 150 kids state wide racing. Now there are over 4000 kids racing. There had to split the state into 3 areas because it’s gotten so huge there were getting start lines of 2-300 racers. Checkout NICA and get your kids racing for a good alternative to football.


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[go4thegusto]

Kind of off topic, but I am willing to bet in the next 20 years, you will see tackle football go away completely even up to a Pro Level. All it takes is to raise an entire generation without tackling and soon it will be gone. You are already starting to see more and more penalties and more protection for players in the College and NFL level. Kids in my area don't start tackle football until middle school. Talk is they are going to change it high school only, soon.

Very sad to hear of his passing, despite what people may have thought of his gear or his business practices, he was an innovator without a doubt.

Good luck with that. This is blood sport...think Gladiators, boxing, Ultimate Fighting. It is a reflection of our societal trend towards violence and disdain for anyone else. I watch the Vikings when convenient and when not in a treestand but just shake my head at the hits and rabid fans.

 

[Poser]

It's kind of mindboggling as we watch the NFL ruin a once fine game with all the new rules and penalties, and then all you have to do is watch one replay of a game from the 90's and before and realize that back then even the punters were wearing bigger pads than even the lineman today. They might as well ditch the pads altogether as small as they've gotten. And no one in the NFL administration can figure this out?

Pad technology has changed dramatically. That’s like comparing meat hauling packs from the 90s to contemporary hunting packs. All in all, you’d be much better off taking a hit in today’s pads vs the clunkier pads of years past. The lower profile pads also reduce peripheral collisions and the turf is much softer than it used to be. Also, the most obvious reduction is shoulder pad size and shoulder injuries aren’t very common.

 

[CorbLand]

It's kind of mindboggling as we watch the NFL ruin a once fine game with all the new rules and penalties, and then all you have to do is watch one replay of a game from the 90's and before and realize that back then even the punters were wearing bigger pads than even the lineman today. They might as well ditch the pads altogether as small as they've gotten. And no one in the NFL administration can figure this out?

I have a theory that a good chunk of the new rules are to open up the field for big plays. As a society we have become infatuated with stats and athletes that make one big play after another. So to make that happen, thus increasing viewer ratings, we make rules to make it so the defenders cant defend anymore.

 

[Trial153]

I have no problem saying that I will actively discourage my son from playing football.