As many football fans know, the sport can be a bit violent. Since the game’s inception in the mid-nineteenth century, there have been countless injuries to the players. Some of those injuries have been career-ending.
While injuries like a broken ankle, or sprained wrist can be mended and heal after some therapy, one injury from football, or any contact sport, is not so easy to fix. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease that is link to athletes who play in ‘striking-based’ and contact sports.
A recent study conducted by the Academic Forensic Pathology studied the correlation between CTE, and homicidal violence among NFL athletes. Even though the evidence to support the notion that NFL players have a higher degree of violent behavior is lacking, the study found that many retired NFL athletes suffer from intermittent explosive disorder (IED).
This disorder is defined as episodes of unpremeditated uncontrollable anger. The study showed that 30.7% of 30 to 49-year-old retired NFL players. It also showed 54.8% of 29.3% of 50-year-old and over retired NFL athletes suffer from IED.
Not only do athletes have to worry about sports injuries and CTE, they also have to worry about the immense pressure from the environment. Sometimes, the pressure leads to arrests.
A report by Reuters found that the arrest rate for violent crimes, like assaults and homicides, in NFL athletes was decidedly high.
An incident that occurred recently has medical officials wondering if it stemmed from the athlete having CTE. On April 9, 2021, former NFL Atlanta Falcon allegedly went on a shooting spree. York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson reported that Adams fatally shot Dr. Robert Lesslie, 70, his wife Barbara, 69, and their grandchildren Adah Lesslie, 9, and Noah Lesslie.
The report also showed that Adams shot and killed James Lewis, a 38-yearold male who was working outside of the home. Robert Shook, a 38-year-old coworker of Lewis was also shot. He was flown to a hospital where he is critical condition.
After two frantic 911 calls, one by the wounded worker and the other by a landscaper, law officials arrived on scene. Officials said they found evidence that pointed to Adams as a suspect.
They went to his parent’s residence and evacuated them while trying to talk Adams out of the house. Eventually, they gained entry to the residence and found Adams deceased from a gunshot wound to the head.
Adams played 78 NFL games in his career. That career spanned over six seasons with six different teams. Adams’ career was plagued with multiple injuries, a severe ankle injury and several concussions.
Unfortunately, Adams is not the only NFL athlete to morph from football to violence. Former Seattle Seahawk Tevone Boykin was sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of beating his girlfriend in 2018. He pled guilty to Aggravated Assault and Witness Tampering.
Rae Carruth, former Caroline Panther served 19 years in prison for Conspiracy to Commit Murder. He was found guilty of orchestrating the murder of his pregnant girlfriend. Even though she died, the baby made it.
Aaron Hernandez, former New England Patriot was sentenced to prison for the murder of Odin Lloyd. While serving his sentence, he was also a person of interest in a double homicide in Boston in 2012. Even though he was acquitted of those crimes, Hernandez was found hanging in his cell by a bed sheet and was pronounced dead.
Eric Naposki, another former New England Patriot is serving a life sentence for the 1994 murder of William “Bill” McLaughlin. It took 15 years for the evidence to point to Naposki. He was charged in 2009 and convicted in 2012. The motive was assumed to be for financial gain. His lover, Nanette Packard Neal was convicted of first-degree murder and also sentenced that year because of her role in the murder.
There are multiple other athletes who are serving time or have served time because of violent crimes such as murder, assault, and rape. Are these athletes suffering from CTE? Did Adams suffer from CTE and that led to him killing five people and taking his own life? Science only knows. Adams’ family donated Adams’ brain to be tested for the neurodegenerative disease to find out if that is what fueled his killing spree.