Sammis Reyes, a native of Talcahuano, but raised in Maipú, wanted to be a basketball player in the NBA. While touring the United States with his college team, at age 14 he was recruited by Westlake Prep., and then joined Tulane University, just before realizing that his path was headed for a rougher game and contact: …
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Sammis Reyes, a native of Talcahuano, but raised in Maipú, wanted to be a basketball player in the NBA. While touring the United States with his college team, at age 14 he was recruited by Westlake Prep., and then joined Tulane University, just before realizing that his path was headed for a rougher game and of contact: American football, a sport that Reyes never played in Chile.
Thus, he became the first Chilean to reach the competitive NFL, where he played three consecutive years for the Washington Commanders, Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars. Until, after a crash in training, he spent seven nights without sleep due to headaches. It was then that he announced his intention to retire through the networks in one of the harshest confessions heard in recent times: “I would never forgive myself for not being the same husband, the same son or the same person for persevering in this sport. I prefer to take care of my health”.
The thing about Sammis is not accidental. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as CTE, is the main cause of soccer player abandonment, at an average age of 28 years. There are already deaths and disorders derived from their diagnosis and the powerful organization that groups the franchises – which generate millions and define the winner in the Super Bowl, the most massive sports spectacle on American television – has implemented restrictive policies in recent years that they seek not only to safeguard the medical safety of their athletes, but also million-dollar lawsuits.
Reyes, now 27 years old, received education in front of the ETC in his clubs, where they explained to him that it is a neurodegenerative disease that appears mainly due to the sum of traumatic brain injuries. The effects are usually not immediate, although they are accentuated over time, and in its first phase of study it was known as boxer’s dementia, due to the accumulation of cases in ex-boxers. Clinically, however, it has been established that American football, wrestling, and ice hockey are sports that also expose their practitioners to sequelae.
The English Football Federation commissioned an investigation to see the consequences of headbutting the ball during professional practice, and recommended that children under 12 years of age should not be subjected to practices that could lead to brain injuries.
Sammis, the son of athletic parents, made a decision that is expanding more and more. It was a forensic pathologist of Nigerian origin, Bennet Omalu, based in Pittsburgh, who associated the death of Mike Webster, a former Steelers player, with blows received during football practice, to which three more cases would later be added. His allegations were pursued by the NFL and powerful pressure groups, until finally being accepted as valid. Several books were published on the subject and the story was captured in Concussion, a film starring Will Smith.
The regulations with which the Chilean played in the league have preventions, by the way, but according to specialists they are not enough. Stopping the game when a player suffers a concussion on the head, the improvement of helmets and a strict treatment protocol once the injury has occurred have not prevented many young athletes from choosing to retire prematurely to avoid degenerative damage, which is beginning to manifest itself. early, even if it means abandoning the American dream that promises fame, money and opportunities from the most massive of its sports.
A route that Sammis Reyes, the first and only Chilean to peek into that world, also preferred to take.
Aldo Schiappacasse is one of the leading sports journalism firms in Chile. With a career in television, radio and written media, he is one of the conductors of País ADN. In EL PAÍS he writes columns about Chilean sports and social life
2023-08-23 05:00:02
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