Owen Strachan:
Junior Seau, football hall-of-famer and former New England Patriot, is dead. It appears that he committed suicide. Seau was 43 and had an ex-wife and three children.
This is the latest in a growing line of NFL suicides, and Seau is the sixth member of the 1994 San Diego Chargers team to die from suicide, alcohol or drugs (two other Chargers died in freak accidents). It is not immediately clear that Seau killed himself because of brain trauma and resulting mental illness, but there are forbiddingly ominous signs of the same (he did suffer many concussions, that much is clear). Two years ago, Seau survived a 100-foot plunge off a cliff following a fight with his girlfriend. He said that he fell asleep at the wheel, but one sees a pattern here in relation to previous tragic deaths of NFL players and other athletes (see below). All this discussion must, of course, be conducted with clear reference to human sinfulness, which is our primary problem. But our physical actions can aid and abet our sin and fallenness, that much seems clear.
On Twitter, I discussed this issue with some friends and connected this death to the strong possibility of brain injury. Good questions were raised, and someone asked about hard data that helps to substantiate the connection between football violence and bizarre, even deadly, behavior. Below are some links that I’ve culled on this subject, one that has personally interested me for three years.
Read the rest to read through his links.
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