Severe head injuries have been a problem in the NFL for decades. These injuries have caused severe brain damage to many players and have also been the cause of many players deaths. Experts have been working for years to find solutions to this problem and might have just had a breakthrough.
VICIS Helmets are being used by the best players in the NFL, like Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Tua Tagovailoa, George Kittle, Joey and Nick Bosa. The VICIS helmets are designed to absorb hard hits to the head to protect the player. The website, vicis.com, states, “Flexible outer shell technology, exclusive to VICIS helmets, allows the ZERO2 to respond like no other helmet on the market. By deforming like a car bumper, impact forces are absorbed at the point of contact, before they reach the head.” This is unlike the other helmets used in the NFL and the VICIS helmet has already saved multiple players from severe head injuries.
Severe head injuries haven’t only ended players careers, they have also ended their lives. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, is a brain disorder caused by repeated hits to the head. When someone develops CTE their nerve cells in their brain die, this is known as degeneration. CTE gets worse overtime and the only way to fully diagnosis it is by performing an autopsy of the brain after death. The website, concussionlegacyfoundation, states, “Chronic traumatic encephalopathy has been found in 345 of 376 deceased former NFL players’ brains.”
Even though doctors can’t be sure if someone has CTE until they die, there are still many people who are suspected to have it. For example, Antonio Brown. Brown was a star wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and also played for the Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the last game of his electric career, he had an argument with fellow coaches and players on the sideline. He then started jogging off the field and took his jersey off and threw it into the stands. Brown had a history of questionable behaviors before this event. He had been accused of rape, sexual assault, burglary, battery, and failure to pay child support.
Another prime example of the effects CTE has on a person is Tiaina Baul “Junior” Seau Jr. Junior Seau was a great linebacker for the New England Patriots, San Diego Patriots, and Miami Dolphins. He was an 8 time All-Pro and was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2015. In 2012, Seau committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest at the age of 43, due to complications from CTE. All these injuries and horrific events caused by the lack of head protection could have been prevented if these players had access to the VICIS helmet.
