Over the last few years one prevailing storyline throughout the sports world, particularly the NFL, boxing and the NHL, has been the new evidence of permanent brain damage as the result of multiple concussions. As participants get bigger, stronger and faster, there will continue to be stronger forces exerted to the head and neck area, leading to an increased possibility of concussions. While sports attempt to adapt and create a safer environment for the players, there continues to be pushback due to “softening” of sports and a change from how the game used to be played.

The problem with concussions doesn’t lie in the short-term effects, which include headaches, memory loss and inability to focus; those typically subside in four to six weeks but can last months or years depending on severity. The real problem occurs when a victim develops Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, commonly referred to as CTE. CTE can only be identified in an individual post-mortem, so it is impossible to tell whether the symptoms are truly caused by the disease in one’s lifetime. Nor are the effects of CTE inconsequential, as they include changes to mood, behavior, motor skills, memory and balance. The threat of CTE has led to widespread awareness about concussions and in turn legislation and processes to try to prevent the potentially debilitating disease.

Earlier this month the NFL came up with a plan to pay out $765 million to over 4,500 litigants who had filed various lawsuits asserting the NFL knew the concussions players suffered could lead to CTE but did not tell players of the risk. However, this $765 million fails to cover the presumable hundreds if not thousands of former players who suffer from similar symptoms but chose not to take legal action against the league. Mass payouts like these illustrate how seriously the concussion discussion has become, but pales in comparison to the more personal tales of how people are affected.

Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sydney Crosby, once dubbed by Wayne Gretzky himself as the player most likely to break Gretzky’s numerous records, was sidelined in the prime of his career for a total of 10 months over the course of two seasons due to concussions and follow-up symptoms. Aside from missed playing time, CTE has a more serious problem, as sometimes it can cause suicidal tendencies. On May 12, 2012, Junior Seau, one of the most beloved players in San Diego Chargers history, took his own life by shooting himself in the chest with a shotgun. Seau left no suicide note, but when his family donated his brain to be examined, it showed that Seau had definitive signs of CTE.

The most frightening part about this degenerative brain disease is that no one knows when a player becomes at risk. The common practice now is three concussions in four years will cause a player to be shut down, or a total of three to five depending on severity. As a member of the Whitman College lacrosse team who played for five years prior to coming to Whitman, I have unfortunately sustained three diagnosed concussions. Each of the past two seasons I have suffered minor concussions early in the season only to have my spring break littered with doctors’ visits in an attempt to get back on the field. For my most recent concussion, I had the good fortune of being able to see three concussion specialists who were split on whether it would be safe for me to return to play at any point in my life. The general consensus is that, because I have never been knocked unconscious by a concussion, I am probably safe at this point, but if I have the misfortune of a fourth, it will spell the end of my lacrosse career.

With more and more stories coming to the surface regarding the dangerous effects that multiple concussions can cause on the brain, several steps have been taken in an attempt to protect players, such as mandatory removal from the game if a concussion is suspected. However, players know missing playing time not only hurts the team, but also their chance for a paycheck, and players will continue to hide their injuries if it means they get to stay on the field. Concussions currently pose the biggest threat to one of the most profitable industries in America and there is no real solution in sight.