The Troubling Case of Aaron Hernandez: A Look at CTE in the NFL

One of the most notorious cases of CTE in the history of the NFL is that of former player Aaron Hernández (i).

Photo: NFL

Those who aspire to reach the National Football League (NFL) begin playing American football from the age of 12, which means that from an early age they begin to regularly undergo blows to their head. These are usually related to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease caused by constant repetitive traumatic brain injuries.

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These can be common in the practice of some sports such as boxing, ice hockey and, especially, American football. CTE can be considered a “ghost” that accompanies gamers, as it worsens slowly and can only be diagnosed with certainty after death with a brain autopsy.

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CTE symptoms begin to appear gradually, about 10 years after the injuries. One of the main problems is that they are so common that they can be assumed to be pathologies of another disease. Therefore, when an athlete or former athlete begins to present depression, memory loss, aggression, impulsive behavior, mood changes and even addiction to some substances, it is a warning of a possible case.

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Playing football was associated with a 15% increased likelihood of a CTE diagnosis. For every 1,000 estimated blows to the player’s head, the probability of being a positive case increases by an additional 21%.

In a study published by the Boston University CTE Center In April 2023, director Ann Mckee announced that, after performing the respective brain autopsies on 376 former NFL players, they diagnosed 345 of them with CTE, which is equivalent to 91.7%.

This was due to the accumulation of hyperphosphorylated Tau protein inside nerve cells and neurons that led to brain shrinkage.

Aaron Hernández, an extreme case of CTE

One of the most notorious cases of CTE in the history of the NFL is that of Aaron Hernández. Born in 1989, this defensive lineman began his career at the University of Florida and quickly caught the attention of the New England Patriots, who signed him in 2010.

Hernández had become a star since his arrival, but in 2013 something happened that broke his life in two. In August of that year, he was arrested for the murder of semi-professional player Odin Lloyd. They found the murder weapon in his house and the Patriots terminated his contract immediately.

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In 2015, two years after a long and high-profile trial, the former player was sentenced to life in prison and was taken to the Souza Baranouwski prison in Massachusetts. On April 19, 2017, Hernández was found hanging in his cell in the prison. After his death, his brain was donated to Boston University for some studies, as happened with other high-impact sports players.

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Dr. Mckee herself conducted the study and announced that this was “the most advanced case of CTE in someone her age.” [27 años]”. The brain deterioration that Hernández presented was that of a person 10 years older than him, which placed him in stage three, with fourth being the highest. Even the most serious case they had recorded was in the brain of a 46-year-old former player some time ago.

Dr. Ann Mckee, director of the CTE Center at Boston University, presenting the case of Aaron Hernández.

Photo: Boston University

Despite the results in the laboratory, a pathological connection with his aggressive behavior was never confirmed. However, it was evident that the most affected sections were the hippocampus and the frontal lobe, structures of the brain that control judgment, emotions and impulses. Mckee added that Hernandez was born with a genetic marker associated with neurodegenerative diseases and that may have contributed to his rapid development of CTE.

The measures taken by the NFL

Since the mid-2000s, the CTE Center had attempted to promote the prevention of these types of injuries through guides and information programs, but it was not until 2007 that the NFL began to take the matter more seriously. Team officials began requiring regular neuropsychological testing and screening for players to return to the field after a head injury, but they did not mention the risks involved.

It took eight years to publicly acknowledge a connection between football and CTE. Jeff Miller, then the NFL’s vice president of health and safety policy, announced through a poster the risk that a concussion brings to his players and the effect that long-term trauma can have.

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After the multiple bruises presented in all seasons, in 2018 a redesign of the cases began to provide “greater security.” The team led by researcher Jeff Crandall, a biomechanical engineer at the University of Virginia, looked for trends, especially as they related to the performance of these parts that are primarily designed to prevent skull fractures.

Research has long shown that rotational forces or blunt impacts were primarily responsible for concussions. Some experts warn that while redesigning helmets will not eliminate CTE cases, they can be the first steps toward improving the current situation and generating innovation in the industry.

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Despite the NFL’s continued attempts to update its Concussion Protocol, the organization continues to face growing concerns of negligence by players, coaches and owners. Since sometimes the symptoms of a head injury or concussion can go unnoticed initially, it sometimes takes hours or days before the symptoms become completely evident.

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A current case is that of Tau Tagovailoa, the quarterback of the Miami Dolphins. The Hawaiian suffered two concussions in a single week in October 2022, and a third, not recorded by the team, most likely occurred, which kept him off the court for more than four months. However, in a press conference in April of this year he said that, despite medical warnings about the possible development of CTE, he said he would return to play as this “wasn’t going to be a problem” for him.

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2023-12-05 19:00:00
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