Former New York Giants LB Corey Widmer declines Montana Football Hall of Fame nomination

[Ptah]

Source: USA Today

BOZEMAN, Mont. — Former New York Giants linebacker and Montana State star Corey Widmer has declined his nomination to the Montana Football Hall of Fame, saying the sport “destroyed my life.”

Widmer said after numerous concussions he fears he suffers from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease. He has depression, memory problems, suffers from mood swings and seeks to isolate himself. Recently, he said, his thumb has started twitching.

“I’m 49 years old, depressed to the Nth degree, but have a lot of money ... and some people might say it’s still worth it. I just tell them to watch what they wish for,” Widmer told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. “If someone could’ve explained all of this to me when I was 14, I would’ve given it all back in a heartbeat. I would’ve wished for something else.”

The Bozeman native said he couldn’t in good conscience be a part of Saturday’s banquet in Billings celebrating a sport that caused great suffering among his friends and that he believes endangers children.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2018/03/26/corey-widmer-declines-montana-football-hall-fame-nomination-concussions/461142002/

[Aristus]

1. Good for him.

It will outrage the armchair fans, but I hope it will change some minds about the brutality of the sport.

[Ptah]

2. Here's why

But he said he also couldn’t stay silent anymore after reading a recent news story about a lawsuit filed by the family of a 16-year-old Belt High School student who suffered a concussion in a 2014 game and collapsed after playing the next weekend, leaving him nearly paralyzed and unable to speak.

[Skittles]

4. they don't care, as long as they are entertained

[Aristus]

12. That's true.

God, how much better a nation we'd be if we didn't have the below-average half dragging us down...

[Honeycombe8]

3. You know, he says that now.

But there's no shortage of young males still playing school football and dream of going pro and playing in college. All the pros now. All the ones playing college football. They ALL know what it does to the brain. For the kids, the parents know what it does to the brain. But they choose to do it, anyway.

It's possible this guy would not play football, if he could go back in time. But it's not for certain. Look at all the guys who are at that point, but make the choice to play.

For anyone playing football now, it's hard to feel sorry for them when they discover how their brains have been injured.

But I commend this guy for not accepting this award. Accepting the award would give a thumbs up to the sport and encourage others to follow in his footsteps.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

9. I say the same thing about cage fighters...

... I have a good friend, her son was a cage/MMA fighter. Finally quit after problems following his 12th concussion. Dreams of money and, "helping make the rent payments", drive many. I know this is seems cold and sad, but...

[BlueMTexpat]

5. My older son was angry with me

for years because we moved abroad again just when he was about to enter high school so that he missed his chance to play American football at the secondary level.

Although not having him play football was not my driving force for moving abroad, I have in hindsight been happy that things worked out that way. Both my birth sons (I have a couple inherited through my second marriage) were and are athletic, but had to substitute soccer ("football" almost everywhere else in the world), basketball, and softball for their team sports activities.

Interestingly, he now thanks me - undeserved thanks at best - and has no plans to encourage either of his own sons to play American football. Right now, they are busy with so many other activities - sports, music and other fine arts, along with academics - that they don't even have time to think about it.

He still encourages team sports activities because he believes that they are among the best ways to learn what teamwork is and volunteers as a soccer coach every year.

[SunSeeker]

7. Soccer is not without head trauma, but nothing like football.

I let my kid play soccer, like I did. But not football.

[BlueMTexpat]

16. When it comes to that, almost

no sport is without risk.

[oberliner]

8. Soccer has the same problems

To a lesser degree.

[BlueMTexpat]

17. Yes, but US football

stresses physical contact whereas soccer penalizes it.

[SunSeeker]

6. That's why I won't let my 14 year old play tackle football. nt

[ouija]

10. I played for many years

And I suffered about five concussions. I walked away turning down major college football. For most of the years since then, I regretted that decision. For the last couple of years, I have come to believe that decision saved my life.

[Honeycombe8]

11. Wow, that was a tough decision.

I've seen news stories and watched one documentary on the subject. I was left with the impression that without a doubt, playing football for any length of time makes for a high probability that a player would suffer some sort of brain damage. It would be just a matter of the seriousness of that damage. AND the player doesn't even have to suffer concussions, they learned.

They've found brain damage in kids playing football.

So you definitely made the right decision. Ending up with bad knees is one thing. You can live with that, or get them replaced. A damaged brain is something else.

[Delphinus]

14. Glad you

are here.

[Xolodno]

15. My wife's cousin played for UCLA...

...despite easily being able to go pro, he walked away and became a teacher. Why? He saw other pro players who were in their 40's and basically disabled.

[camelfan]

13. For me, it was the PBS "Frontline" episode that did it.

The descriptions of Mike Webster, the autopsy photos, the interview with Dr. Omalu...it made me sick. I never played, but I revered football players since the early '70s. When my beloved 49ers made the Super Bowl again recently, I told my family I wouldn't be watching. They didn't understand it then. Not sure they do now. I don't care. This is barbarism, plain and simple - Roman gladiators for the 21st century, "civilized" with formal rules, padding and helmets.

ETA: It took me a while to find this story, but it's well worth the read:

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/9932209/nfl-becoming-guilty-pleasure