Concussed The American Dream

LegalDramaDaily

Transcript

00:00:09One of the things that she still remembers very vividly is that she did not want to leave him

00:00:16at the cemetery. Like, she was freaking out that we were going to put dirt on him and leave him

00:00:22in the ground. Like, she just couldn't handle that. She was so upset about it. I remember that we're

00:00:29watching a movie in my grandma and grandpa's bed, and we kept on bunking heads together.

00:00:36Did it hurt? No. What do you miss most about your uncle? No.

00:00:53The football world has been rocked this week by the sad death of a former star.

00:00:58The Super Bowl-winning safety, Gabe Durston, took his own life, convinced that the despair

00:01:03he faced was caused in part by the damage he suffered on the football field.

00:01:07Junior Seau was found dead in his Southern California home of an apparent suicide.

00:01:12A former San Diego Chargers linebacker was found dead of a gunshot wound this morning.

00:01:16Today, a team of doctors confirmed that he suffered from degenerative brain disease, which could

00:01:22be linked to the years he spent taking blows and giving them on the football field.

00:01:27We're looking at a dangerous full-contact sport where too many players play too long and therefore

00:01:33suffer physical consequences, including especially, importantly, CTE.

00:01:38Where for you and I, long-term health is the most important thing. After that, the ability

00:01:44to play a pro career. And the lowest priority is to play that play. The athlete turns it on

00:01:53its head. It's that play.

00:01:57I unequivocally think there's a link between playing football and CTE.

00:02:02I guess if my son was Tom Brady or, you know, Brett Favre or some of those guys, it might

00:02:10have

00:02:10made a bigger impact. And, you know, I've thought about that before. Or Peyton Manning. I thought,

00:02:18Lord, I don't want them to suffer this. But if one of them would have it, it would get a

00:02:26lot

00:02:26more attention from the, you know, from our country.

00:02:31And this time we give it to...

00:02:34Tyler, Sash, chukin', tackler's off to the race. Nobody's going to catch Sash. Touchdown, Indians.

00:02:43Money. That's a money shot right there.

00:02:45Here we go. Tyler, Sash, bye-bye.

00:02:49Tyler, live. Brilliant. Oh, nice pitch.

00:02:51Big running room here for Sash. Now he cuts back. Oh, my goodness.

00:02:55Picked off by Tyler Sash.

00:02:59Garcia threw it up for grabs and Sash has another.

00:03:06And it was Sash who's been all over the place tonight in their secondary.

00:03:09Oskaloosa's very own Tyler Sash is heading to the Super Bowl this Sunday.

00:03:21So, it's Corona, so I'll let you do it.

00:03:24I even have some Clorox wipes if you want me to.

00:03:26I got some, too.

00:03:27Okay.

00:03:27So, this clip's on the back of my feet.

00:03:29Yeah, just in the back, yeah, on your, you know, with your loop, with your jean.

00:03:36Oskaloosa's a pretty nice small town in Iowa.

00:03:38It's not, you know, it's not real small, but it's, you know, it's big enough that it, you know, it

00:03:44has a few things to offer.

00:03:45But I kind of like that coming from New Jersey.

00:03:48I kind of like the quiet life.

00:03:49And it's a good life and it's simple and you can really spend a lot of time being the best

00:03:55parent that you can be

00:03:57and having your kids involved in lots of different activities at school.

00:04:01So, Oskaloosa's been good to us and it's made a lot of developments in the last few years.

00:04:29Tyler was just, he's just such a funny kid.

00:04:31You know, he'd come over and he's always, you know, thought he was, I don't know what he thought.

00:04:36Anyway, he'd come in and I'd see him and he'd look at me real funny and I'm like, no, Tyler.

00:04:41And he'd start running at me and he'd run and he'd tackle me just like I was a tackling dummy.

00:04:46And he'd pick me up and run with me and I'm like, stop it.

00:04:49You gotta put me down.

00:04:50I mean, he just did that all the time.

00:04:52Just funny stuff like that.

00:04:54I have a picture of my father and he looked a lot like my father.

00:04:59And I never really saw that so much until later.

00:05:03And all my sisters are like, and my mom thought he looked just like my dad.

00:05:07That's a picture of him and his brother.

00:05:09We had that made when he had, when my oldest son had his senior pictures done,

00:05:15we had that made because they were just really good buddies.

00:05:18And he was a ball boy for his brother's high school team.

00:05:21Josh is our older brother.

00:05:23I was the middle child and then Tyler was the surprise.

00:05:28He wasn't planned.

00:05:29So he, his joke would be, well, he turned out to be an all right surprise.

00:05:35Tyler just had kind of this magnetic personality.

00:05:38So really for, for me, he, I treated him as, as my younger brother.

00:05:44I kind of mothered him, I guess.

00:05:47He had these huge blue eyes, always had this huge smile on his face.

00:05:51And he was just the most precious thing.

00:05:54He was very, very cute little kid.

00:05:56As a little kid, he had, he couldn't just walk through here.

00:06:00He would come running up the stairs from his bedroom and he would jump and he would slap the,

00:06:06the doorway.

00:06:07Like he, he was trying to dunk a basketball or something.

00:06:10That was his thinking.

00:06:10The trim at that time was painted.

00:06:13And so it chipped everything off.

00:06:15And my mom would constantly tell him that he wasn't supposed to do that.

00:06:20And so we got to the place where, you know, there was handprints all up, all over the wall.

00:06:24And he didn't listen.

00:06:25He was practicing his, you know, how he was going to slap the backboard or, or do a dunk.

00:06:31After Tyler's brother graduated from high school, Tyler moved right into his bedroom.

00:06:36And that is in the basement because it was the biggest room in the house.

00:06:39So we'll go down here.

00:06:40Okay.

00:06:48This is the room that is, his brother and him both, you know, had each when they were in high

00:06:55school.

00:06:55What posters were up when he was in here?

00:06:57Oh, Michael Jordan, you know, the one with his basketball in his hands.

00:07:02Mostly they were basketball posters.

00:07:05Here comes Sash.

00:07:08Oh, they get the block he found.

00:07:23I don't know if you want my real thing or not.

00:07:25I'm not, I'm not too happy.

00:07:26It's time to wake up, okay?

00:07:30You guys with me?

00:07:36Oh, my God!

00:07:37Oh, my God!

00:07:39Oh, my God!

00:07:41Oh, my God!

00:07:46Graber!

00:07:47Let's go.

00:07:48Right here.

00:07:49Right here.

00:07:50Right here.

00:07:51Oh, my God!

00:07:53Oh, my God!

00:07:54Oh, my God!

00:07:58Tyler Sash is kind of a, he's kind of a local, local hero, really.

00:08:02I mean, he's a guy that, he grew up here and he was just an outstanding all-around athlete.

00:08:08He was a phenomenal basketball player.

00:08:09He's a really good football player.

00:08:11He's really good at track.

00:08:12I remember him playing baseball, basketball, of course, was a huge one for him, and then football from third or

00:08:21fourth grade.

00:08:22This is actually the middle school right here.

00:08:24My husband taught there for 39 years.

00:08:27But he played his football games there?

00:08:28Yeah, he played all of his football games there, and we lived on that street.

00:08:31So, we used to sit in the deck of that last house.

00:08:34We used to sit up there and watch his football games.

00:08:35Really?

00:08:36Yeah.

00:08:36We never went to go, we never went in.

00:08:38We could have got in for free because my husband coached here.

00:08:41You know, he's one of those guys that you'd have to kick out of a gym or kick out of

00:08:44a weight room or whatever it might be.

00:08:46Because he wasn't, he was going to put all the extra time and effort into it.

00:08:51I can remember against one of our arch rivals, Pella, we threw a toss out to him.

00:08:56And I swear, we didn't block hardly anybody, and there were, he ran 50 yards for a touchdown.

00:09:02There were seven Pella kids that were laying on the floor, on the ground, that had tried to tackle him,

00:09:07and nobody did.

00:09:10Look at that.

00:09:12Turn over the bite.

00:09:13Boy, that's good defense right there by Tyler Sash.

00:09:18Look at that.

00:09:19Money.

00:09:19That's a money shot right there.

00:09:22Tyler Sash, seven carries, 114 yards and a touchdown.

00:09:26Averaged 16 yards a carry tonight for Sash.

00:09:29Hey, I tell you what, fellas, the kid's got some talent, don't you think?

00:09:32He's one of those guys that would just take a contest over, whether it was basketball, whether it was football,

00:09:38whether it was track.

00:09:39He just took it to another level.

00:09:41What I really liked about Tyler was he was so coachable for us.

00:09:45He was always wanting to learn more and more and more.

00:09:48He thought he was going to play college basketball his whole life.

00:09:51In Oskaloosa, they had this one kid that basically scored 36 of their 40 points.

00:09:57I'll never forget coming back and telling our staff that Monday morning, I said, you know, I think I saw

00:10:01the next Steve Alford because he was a legendary player in Indiana, you know, growing up.

00:10:05So I figured he's going to be a Division I basketball player.

00:10:08Did he set any records?

00:10:10Oh, yeah.

00:10:11He had, I don't, I couldn't even tell you, my husband could tell you.

00:10:14He, Tyler held like 20 or 30 records.

00:10:19He holds our 100-meter dash record, 10-6-5 at the high school.

00:10:22You look at even just the basketball ones, he's known for football.

00:10:2551 points in a game, 12 threes in a game.

00:10:27That's never going to be touched.

00:10:29I mean, those are things that people dream of.

00:10:32When did you decide football full-time?

00:10:35How long ago, how many years ago was that?

00:10:37Well, my sophomore year, not a lot of people know this, but my sophomore year, I told my dad I'm

00:10:42not playing football this year.

00:10:43And he goes, no, you're going to play.

00:10:45He basically made me play one more year.

00:10:47And he's like, you're going to play and see how you like it.

00:10:49And Coach Schumacher at the time moved me up to varsity.

00:10:52And I don't like talking about being All-State or all this, whatever, but I ended up making All-State.

00:10:59And I was like, all right, this isn't so bad.

00:11:00I moved into high school.

00:11:01He really became a multi-sport athlete and certainly got our attention as a football player.

00:11:07He's a guy that we really liked.

00:11:08And I remember distinctly talking to him and offering him a scholarship.

00:11:12I believe he was on his way home his junior year from the state championship, the track championship.

00:11:18So he was driving home from Des Moines.

00:11:20And I had him on the phone.

00:11:21That's when we offered him the scholarship.

00:11:23And fortunately for us, he decided to come to the University of Iowa.

00:11:26And throws right to the Hawkeye.

00:11:28Tyler Sash, ladder on the ball, off.

00:11:32Inside the five, lunging, touchdown.

00:11:38It's all made possible by Tyler Sash.

00:11:44He was at the University of Iowa and he went down to the cheerleaders one night and he asked him

00:11:49what they did with all those shirts over there.

00:11:52And they said, well, they, you know, they would shoot him up into the crowd and stuff.

00:11:55And he said, could I have some?

00:11:57Here's the new football stadium.

00:12:00He said, could I have some of those?

00:12:02And they said, sure.

00:12:03So what do you do?

00:12:03He took a bunch of them and he went over to the handicap section and gave them to all the

00:12:07handicap kids sitting in the front row in their wheelchairs.

00:12:31Well, you know, the most famous play certainly is the, you know, the ricochet play against Indiana.

00:12:37And that was a game where we were, you know, we were going down.

00:12:40They came in here and got off to a real fast start.

00:12:43And we never got our hands up.

00:12:45I mean, we never put up a fight at all.

00:12:47So had they, Indiana scored at that point, I think that game's over.

00:12:51And, you know, it was just one of those things where, you know, he comes out and makes a huge

00:12:54play.

00:12:55But he made a lot of those.

00:12:56That was kind of typical of his career.

00:12:58A lot of people say, even a lot of the analysts, that you just have a nose for the ball.

00:13:02Where does that come from?

00:13:03You know, I don't know if it's from playing basketball, playing point guard, because I always had the ball in

00:13:07my hand.

00:13:07So maybe I'm attracted to the ball.

00:13:08I don't know.

00:13:09I just work hard in practice, try to put myself in those situations, and it translates to the game.

00:13:15He was picked in the sixth round with the New York Giants.

00:13:21And it was kind of a really stressful day.

00:13:24Me and Hannah Max were roommates for our first two years with the New York Giants.

00:13:28We did everything together.

00:13:30I lived with Tyler, so, you know, he's playing his music all day, every day.

00:13:34We're going to the mall together.

00:13:35We're going out together.

00:13:36And, I mean, for all intents and purposes, I mean, he was probably my best friend in my times with

00:13:41the Giants.

00:13:42And Spencer Pasinger comes away with a football.

00:13:47The biggest concussion that I was around for, it was the NFC Championship game against the 49ers.

00:13:54And it was just a physical game.

00:13:56Like, if anybody asks, that game was the hardest game I've ever played.

00:14:01One of the 49ers' defensive ends peels back.

00:14:05Tyler doesn't see him.

00:14:06He sees Tyler.

00:14:07And hit him so hard, he actually flipped and slammed him to the ground.

00:14:12The player down for the Giants.

00:14:15That's Sash.

00:14:19He spun around like a rag doll.

00:14:22And our TV went off.

00:14:24Perfect timing.

00:14:26I'm looking around like, oh, where did Tyler go?

00:14:28So I called my older son.

00:14:30He said that they were tweeting out that my son was unconscious.

00:14:41Oskaloosa's very own Tyler Sash is heading to the Super Bowl this Sunday.

00:14:45The Giants rookie suffered a concussion two weeks ago in the NFC Championship game against the 49ers.

00:14:51The 23-year-old has been examined and cleared by team officials to suit up for the big game this

00:14:56weekend.

00:14:57I mean, I've watched every Super Bowl since I can remember.

00:14:59And for some people, this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

00:15:02And being a rookie, I'm blessed.

00:15:04First year in, I'm in the Super Bowl.

00:15:12The game ends here to the end zone.

00:15:16Hernandez is there.

00:15:17Tipped and batted.

00:15:18Brachowski can't get it.

00:15:20Incomplete.

00:15:21And the New York Giants are the Super Bowl champs.

00:15:25More nervous right now than I am for the Super Bowl.

00:15:28Or than I was for the Super Bowl.

00:15:35Can I have your autograph, Tyler?

00:15:37And then on the other side, it said,

00:15:39Can you get Tom Brady's autograph for me and during the day?

00:15:46I don't know what I'm doing, so it's got to tell you.

00:15:50I mean, how does it feel to be a Super Bowl champ?

00:15:52I know you've heard it all week.

00:15:54You know, it's crazy just to think about being on a team that is the best team in the world.

00:16:01You know, at whatever.

00:16:05We met back in second grade.

00:16:08He was homeschooled, and he came to Whittier Elementary for that year.

00:16:12And then he came back in seventh grade.

00:16:15So we graduated together and known him ever since then.

00:16:19I think we were just a lot alike.

00:16:21I always say he was like the male version of me.

00:16:24We'd finish each other's sentences.

00:16:26We had the same ideas.

00:16:28We were just two of a kind.

00:16:30Are we ready?

00:16:31Is it shooting?

00:16:33I'm wearing an Iowa shirt tomorrow, and I will do cartwheels all day.

00:16:36Thank you very much.

00:16:41It's a video.

00:16:43Oh, I got you.

00:16:44Got you.

00:16:46Justin got kicked out of the lip.

00:16:48Oh, here.

00:16:49New York Giants, New England Patriots.

00:16:51He got the game ball.

00:16:53It was presented to him.

00:16:54He said he actually, I think he got his, I think that he sacked, what's his name?

00:17:00You know, what's his name?

00:17:02From the Patriots, what's his name?

00:17:05Tom Brady.

00:17:06And I think he did in the preseason, too, his first year, he was able to do that.

00:17:10But he got the game ball because he played well on special teams.

00:17:14They called Tyler white chocolate.

00:17:17Or they'd say, where's Weirdo?

00:17:19You know, instead of where's Waldo?

00:17:21You know, because he was the only white guy.

00:17:22I don't know, because he was the only white guy.

00:17:25And he really liked his coaches there.

00:17:27And on trial roll on the defensive backfield was one of his really close friends.

00:17:32You know, I was just joking about the whole key to the city in Oskaloosa thing.

00:17:37It was just a joke.

00:17:38But I was just trying to make a point on how big it really was with that game.

00:17:44You know, getting a key to New York City, that's pretty incredible.

00:17:48The people here in Iowa caught wind of that, and they decided they were going to make him

00:17:53a key.

00:17:54We have a foundry here in town, and they came up with a key.

00:17:59So he had to accept the key to the city.

00:18:02He had to give a speech, and he was a nervous wreck about having to give a speech.

00:18:07It's with great pleasure that I present you with this, the key to the city of Oskaloosa.

00:18:12Congratulations.

00:18:13It's well-deserved.

00:18:23Hopefully this opens Yardsman Bakery on Sunday mornings.

00:18:29I'm going to try to keep giving back to this community as much as I can, and help put Oskaloosa

00:18:34on the map as much as we can.

00:18:35Definitely going to be put on the top shelf, and put the New York City key on the shelf

00:18:41below.

00:18:41You know, this is where I'm from.

00:18:43I'll always be from here.

00:18:44I'll be from the state of Iowa, and I'm happy to represent the state of Iowa.

00:19:02During his second year with the New York Giants, he was having to give, after being a Super Bowl

00:19:10champion, Tyler's probably more like me, where he doesn't love to stand up on a podium and

00:19:15talk in front of people.

00:19:17And he was invited to some other sports shows, so he was so nervous about it.

00:19:24He went to a doctor here in town and was prescribed Adderall because he said, I can't focus.

00:19:30You know, like, I have a hard time focusing because I'm so nervous.

00:19:33He only had a prescription for Adderall, and here he gave a speech over here at William Penn

00:19:41University when they awarded him the key to the city.

00:19:45After he did that interview, for some unknown reason, somebody drove to Oskaloosa and tested

00:19:54his yearn for the NFL.

00:19:56And he knew from that point, talking to him about it later on, and him telling us it was

00:20:02probably going to come out in the news that he tested positive for a drug.

00:20:10He didn't follow the proper protocol.

00:20:12So he was suspended for the first four games because he tested positive for Adderall.

00:20:18Even Tom Coughlin, his coach for the New York Giants, stood in his defense and said, this

00:20:24is a kid who follows every single rule we ask him to follow, who jumps through every hoop,

00:20:29and such a good kid.

00:20:31And for him to be slapped on the hand because he was taking a prescription drug that he has

00:20:38a prescription for is just silly.

00:20:41I definitely, he didn't have to accept to see me.

00:20:44And since he did accept to see me, you never know if maybe he'll reduce it or take it away

00:20:52or, you know, I might, I might still have the four games.

00:20:54So, you know, I just want more of an explanation.

00:20:59There's been some cases that I know of and that people have gotten off with the same exact

00:21:05thing as me.

00:21:06So I just want to know what mine, why mine is different.

00:21:09My son was so confident that he was right and he didn't break any rules.

00:21:14He made an appointment to go see Commissioner Goodell and he, he was sure of himself that

00:21:21he would see it.

00:21:23He said, well, Tyler, you know, he said, sorry, but rules are rules.

00:21:27Tyler tried to explain that there was these other guys that did so much worse and they

00:21:31didn't even get anything like he did.

00:21:34He felt like they made an example out of him and he was so not happy about that.

00:21:40And so he felt like that cost him his chance at a starting position for, you know, as safety

00:21:46that year.

00:21:47The Giants safety was penalized back in March for taking Adderall without filling out the

00:21:52proper paperwork with the league.

00:21:54Sash said the drug was prescribed by a doctor to manage his anxiety during public speaking

00:21:59events during the off season.

00:22:00He was fined somewhere in the range of $100,000 and he had to sit out for four, four games.

00:22:08And so then he, from that point in the season, he struggled with ankle injuries and shoulder.

00:22:14I feel like, you know, everybody's competing every year.

00:22:17Every day I'm just trying to come out and improve and get better every day.

00:22:21And, you know, I know what kind of football player I am and that I can help any team out

00:22:26that needs help.

00:22:27Of course, it's a business.

00:22:28And so you're always skeptical and somewhat nervous about making the team when they cut

00:22:35down to that roster.

00:22:38And his coaches had assured him that he had nothing to worry about at all.

00:22:45Well, he got released going into our third year.

00:22:48He had a couple of concussions and it just got to the point where they didn't know if he

00:22:52was trying to be able to, you know, play at a high level.

00:22:56And then I knew after that third one, his third year there in that preseason game, he

00:23:03got hit really hard.

00:23:04Well, I don't think he ever recovered from that.

00:23:06Quite a surprise that he was cut.

00:23:08He was shocked.

00:23:09And, of course, you know, that fire, though, was in him that he was going to get picked

00:23:17up by another team.

00:23:18He couldn't, he wasn't cleared.

00:23:19But he packed his stuff anyways and drove from New York to Iowa so he could be ready.

00:23:29That's not a good thing.

00:23:32The eating here is, it's good, but it's really bad.

00:23:37Probably came out the ocean that day.

00:23:39Or the day before.

00:23:41Yeah, I mean, you were down on the Gulf Coast.

00:23:43Where were you all at, Bo?

00:23:44There should be a, how to turn it off.

00:23:48All of a sudden I got balloons popping.

00:23:52You're not on the person.

00:23:53I figured that it was not on purpose.

00:23:58It was not on purpose.

00:24:05Atlanta has selected Brett Favre, quarterback, Southern Mississippi.

00:24:11I played 20 seasons in the National Football League.

00:24:20If you count college, I played all four years and started all four years in college, so 24.

00:24:26If you count high school, 26.

00:24:28So, a long time.

00:24:31Bar carried it in for a touchdown.

00:24:33Look at me, kid.

00:24:35Look at this, kid.

00:24:36High school.

00:24:37Take a look.

00:24:39I can't tell you how many times my head hit the turf.

00:24:43And stars or fireworks or whatever went off.

00:24:47Did I lose my memory?

00:24:49No, not really.

00:24:50Was I foggy?

00:24:52Yeah.

00:24:52Was I able to play?

00:24:53Yeah.

00:24:54I never thought about it.

00:24:55I didn't think that was a concussion.

00:24:57It's hard to even put a number on how many of those I have.

00:25:01There's an unwritten rule.

00:25:03You can't make the club in the tub.

00:25:06If you hurt, sometimes it's legitimate.

00:25:10Other times you question it.

00:25:12But if you're not playing, you know, eventually they're not paying.

00:25:18And I got my job because the guy in front of me sprained his ankle.

00:25:22No one knew who I was, including me.

00:25:24And I was thrust into the spotlight.

00:25:28And here is the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, Brett Favre.

00:25:33Don Mikowski, who had been a very good quarterback,

00:25:37and I'm sure he thought, this guy will screw it up.

00:25:39I'll be back soon.

00:25:4020 years later, he's still waiting.

00:25:43Mikowski under pressure and goes down.

00:25:45And here's second-year quarterback Brett Favre

00:25:48out of Southern Mississippi by way of the Atlanta Falcons

00:25:50with the 35, 19 seconds left.

00:25:59No one would know who Tom Brady is

00:26:01if it were not for a guy hitting Drew Bledsoe on the sidelines.

00:26:20And for me, it was always like, remember how you got your spot.

00:26:24Remember how quickly he lost his.

00:26:28Don't ever be a fool and think otherwise.

00:26:36Here's your basic problem.

00:26:40The NFL dominates American culture

00:26:45in a way that no sport in our lifetime has ever done.

00:26:50If you actually understand the way football is played,

00:26:54we've created a new generation of robo-players.

00:26:59Size that was unimaginable 20 years ago.

00:27:03If a player was standing on the 95th-story building,

00:27:11threatening to jump,

00:27:14he would find 10 people around him that would say,

00:27:17law of gravity doesn't apply to you.

00:27:19Go ahead, show them.

00:27:22If you are engaging in a sport that has head contact in it,

00:27:28you might as well come to the conclusion

00:27:29that that is going to be one of the manifestations of what happens.

00:27:33Everybody knows you're going to have bad knees and shoulders and elbows

00:27:36and stuff like that, but nobody ever mentioned the brain.

00:27:40Well, we were just together that summer before I went to New York,

00:27:43and then I went back to Iowa State to finish up school.

00:27:46We kept in contact between then,

00:27:49but then after he got cut from the Giants and he came back here,

00:27:53I had since had a daughter.

00:27:56She's now four,

00:27:58and we just kind of picked back up where we left off.

00:28:03I should have got up and I should have finally taken the place.

00:28:14Ready, set, go.

00:28:16I'll show you, I'll show you.

00:28:20Haylin, say, rawr.

00:28:22Rawr.

00:28:26Haylin, look at mama.

00:28:28Say hi.

00:28:31It was one of a kind.

00:28:34Tyler was definitely her father figure.

00:28:37Talking to him every time he had gone out to do a tryout for a team.

00:28:42I remember him going to Denver and can't remember the team for sure in Florida,

00:28:49but going to multiple different places.

00:28:53I want to say he also went to the Eagles and did tryouts,

00:28:57and his body basically couldn't handle it.

00:29:01He always felt he could deal with pain.

00:29:03Pain was nothing.

00:29:04It's just a way of life.

00:29:05So when you tried to talk to him about stuff like that,

00:29:08you know, kind of brushed it off as in, you know,

00:29:10we all deal with it.

00:29:11We all have to, you know, worry about it.

00:29:13So we don't even need to talk about it.

00:29:14He had thrown up for, I'd say, six months after that last concussion.

00:29:20Well, he was confused in that he kept repeating himself over and over and over about things that were going

00:29:27on during the game or stories that he was telling us.

00:29:31And, you know, his brother finally said to him,

00:29:34Ty, you've already told us that three or four times.

00:29:37I felt sad because I thought his brother didn't understand.

00:29:41I didn't understand, but I knew that something was not right.

00:29:46His mom told me about some things that he was doing, you know, asking repetitive things and leaving the door

00:29:52open, leaving the refrigerator open, milk on the counter, all sorts of things that I didn't know was happening.

00:30:02And Tyler was so excited about the opportunity.

00:30:05And then, like, tomorrow you'd ask Tyler, well, has Charles called?

00:30:09No.

00:30:10You know, like, it was like he didn't even remember.

00:30:12Right.

00:30:13I had never actually heard of CTE at all.

00:30:17My thinking was, I have no idea what that is.

00:30:20And so I immediately Googled it and I went down the list of symptoms and it was unbelievable.

00:30:28I looked at his girlfriend, her and I sat there on the couch right here and I was like, this

00:30:35is Tyler 100%.

00:30:37Like every single one of them, the anxiety, the depression, the sleeplessness.

00:30:43When you think about concussion, no one concussion is really the same.

00:30:48You see different symptoms like headaches.

00:30:51You see dizziness.

00:30:52You'll hear fogginess.

00:30:53You know, you'll hear things like sleep deprivation that are associated with it.

00:30:58But ultimately, that means it's very heterogeneous.

00:31:01The brain, there's no one brain the same.

00:31:04If I get hit here and you get hit here, it might be a little bit different response.

00:31:08And that's the thing about concussions is you don't necessarily have to have a thousand to have worse brain damage.

00:31:15You can suffer one concussion and the repercussions could be as bad as having 5,000.

00:31:24We went 5-6.

00:31:26We lost three games by a point.

00:31:28Each game by a point.

00:31:30Did you beat Bama that year or did you beat Bama before?

00:31:32We didn't play them that year.

00:31:34No, we did play them.

00:31:36We did play them.

00:31:38You guys beat Alabama when you played?

00:31:41Why do you act so surprised?

00:31:43We beat Alabama.

00:31:44They haven't lost.

00:31:45We beat Alabama and we beat them up and down the field and we lost 16-14.

00:31:53We kicked a field goal at the end and our straight-on kicker, I'll never forget, his name's Stump, Jim

00:31:59Taylor, and just hit it.

00:32:01I mean, it's like 20 yards.

00:32:02We lost to them and then the next week we go to Auburn and play and we beat Auburn.

00:32:07If you can imagine two guys, two big, grown men running from opposite sides of the field full speed and

00:32:15running to each other, that's exactly what it is.

00:32:18It's like having a bunch of accidents within three hours, you know.

00:32:22I know that we're all going to have it.

00:32:25I know that it's in me.

00:32:27I know it's in a lot of players that played in the NFL, especially those that played right from Pop

00:32:33Warner.

00:32:34You know, you played all your life.

00:32:37You're going to have some kind of damage when you keep hitting heads.

00:32:40You got a little headache.

00:32:41You got a little dizziness.

00:32:43You make millions of dollars versus out on the street.

00:32:48I'm going to take the dizziness and just try to go back in and play.

00:32:52But then, you know, at 50, when no one else is, you know, worried about you, no one cares, what,

00:32:59you know, what are you going to be like?

00:33:01For the most part, people that live here, you know, they may say hello, but they're good about it.

00:33:23For me, it's a bit like Sherlock and Holmes.

00:33:28You know, you've got the patient, you've got the clinical symptoms.

00:33:31Last month, Dr. Anne McKee was named the 2017 Bostonian of the Year by the Boston Globe for all this

00:33:37work.

00:33:37We recently named the time 2018 on the list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

00:33:44I unequivocally think there's a link between playing football and CTE.

00:33:49But the fact that over five years I've been able to accumulate this number of cases in football players, it

00:33:57cannot be rare.

00:33:58And the other feature of CTE is that the individual themselves complains that they can't control their mind.

00:34:05They have these impulses, they want to behave in certain ways, and it's very difficult for them to control these

00:34:13thought processes or these actions.

00:34:15My first year in Atlanta, I get drafted by Atlanta a week before the regular season starts.

00:34:22They cut every quarterback except the starter and myself, and I'm like, man, this is pretty good.

00:34:28Why I was thinking that, I have no idea.

00:34:30I put on 25 pounds in about four weeks.

00:34:33I was drinking a lot of beer, eating a lot of hot wings, and I'm thinking, this is a good

00:34:38thing.

00:34:38Well, no more than I said that, they bring in Billy Joe Tolliver.

00:34:43He comes walking in the building and had just traded for him.

00:34:45He was a starter in San Diego for a while.

00:34:49And firecracker red hair, cocky as all get out, worse than me.

00:34:54We hit it off, but we hated each other at first, and we sort of hated each other kind of

00:35:00even when we hit it off.

00:35:02But I had a strong arm.

00:35:03One thing I knew, I didn't think anybody in the country or in the world could throw it as hard

00:35:09as far as me.

00:35:10That was kind of my deal.

00:35:11He was five, six years older than me, been around, so he kind of pushed me around.

00:35:16Hey, rookie, carry my helmet.

00:35:18I'm like, I ain't carrying your helmet.

00:35:19I said, I'll tell you what.

00:35:23I challenge you to a throw-off because he had a strong arm.

00:35:26He said, oh, let's do it.

00:35:29So everybody and the whole team gathered around at the end of practice.

00:35:33And he said, all right, rookie, you go first.

00:35:36Didn't matter to me.

00:35:37I backed up.

00:35:39I took two steps through it.

00:35:41It kind of end over end wobbled.

00:35:4483.

00:35:45Billy Joe had a ball, and he went, oh, hell, I quit.

00:35:50And after that, we were fine.

00:35:52We were fine.

00:36:02When I had talked to Dr. Bells, he said, what I'm trying to do is study living players to find

00:36:09out how much tau protein is in your brain.

00:36:14I said, well, I don't know what tau protein is.

00:36:16And he said, well, tau protein, everyone has it.

00:36:18But what we're finding is all these deceased players have a high level of tau protein.

00:36:25And he said, I want to see if living players have it in elevated levels that obviously play football or

00:36:34hockey or whatever.

00:36:35And so I thought, you know, interesting.

00:36:40But my next comment was, okay, doc, so I got elevated levels of tau protein.

00:36:47Do you treat it?

00:36:49He said, no.

00:36:53All we can do is say you have elevated levels.

00:36:56So I chose not to do it because I said, then if I have elevated levels, I'm always going to

00:37:03be wondering, all right, when is, you know, when am I going to deteriorate to a point?

00:37:08So it's best not to know.

00:37:10It's an emotional roller coaster.

00:37:12Some days are good.

00:37:13Some days are bad.

00:37:14I think about if he would have gone the basketball route, you know, this might not have happened.

00:37:19You know, he's not making sense of things.

00:37:22He can't get the insurance.

00:37:23He can't move on because he hasn't had the shoulder surgery yet and he's still sitting here on pain medicine.

00:37:29Or he would be really focused on one thing.

00:37:31One time he would be focused on selling insurance or he would be leaning more towards real estate.

00:37:37He's Googling brain injuries and head trauma and things like that, like on his phone and on his computer.

00:37:45You know, when I would stay there on the weekends, he would maybe get an hour of sleep.

00:37:49If I would wake up, he would be cleaning or he would be watching movies or he was always awake.

00:37:54He could never fall asleep.

00:37:55He would get his mail every day and he'd throw it on the table and I bet it laid there

00:38:01for a month.

00:38:02And I said, honey, don't you have some, you know, like your phone bill and your, you know, utilities and

00:38:08stuff.

00:38:08And he goes, yeah, I'll take care of it.

00:38:10You know, he just couldn't focus long enough to do the basic everyday tasks.

00:38:16When you do the physics of one person running at eight miles an hour and another person running at eight

00:38:22miles an hour

00:38:23and them colliding helmet to helmet, the force is almost equal to that of standing still and swinging somebody,

00:38:30swinging a sledgehammer and hitting somebody in the head.

00:38:32Think of a woodpecker.

00:38:33Woodpecker smacks its head thousands and thousands of times every hour.

00:38:40Woodpeckers have a tongue that's surprisingly longer than the bird is and it goes back in and it wraps around

00:38:47its brain.

00:38:48And when it starts, when it starts pecking the wood, it's safe inside of that tongue that's wrapped around, it's

00:38:55cushioned in there.

00:38:57That's why a woodpecker can do that and not get chronic traumatic woodpecker encephalopathy.

00:39:02Other animals were made to do that.

00:39:04Humans were not.

00:39:05We have no protection but a little bit of fluid around our brains.

00:39:09We weren't meant as a species to do that.

00:39:13When I was in college, before I started playing football, I used to hear people say I'm depressed.

00:39:19And I'm like, what is that like?

00:39:21You know, seriously, what is depression like?

00:39:24I said, I love life.

00:39:25Life is great.

00:39:26You know, why are people depressed?

00:39:30You know, but today I catch myself, you know, sitting at home sometimes.

00:39:37Man, I'm really down right now.

00:39:40I played with a bunch of guys.

00:39:43I know a bunch of guys who took their lives and they were in the same boat as I am.

00:39:49Is that going to be me someday?

00:39:51You know, will I get that low and, you know, something will happen to me?

00:39:56When they talk about helmets, I laugh.

00:39:59I don't care what kind of helmet you put on a football player's head.

00:40:05When you have a collision, you're not going to stop the brain from smacking up against the inside of the

00:40:11skull.

00:40:29I had a traumatic injury.

00:40:31I broke my neck in 2016 against the Dallas Cowboys.

00:40:35And ever since that day, you know, laying on the field and not knowing if I was going to die,

00:40:39not knowing if I was going to live again, not knowing what was going to happen.

00:40:43You don't feel anything.

00:40:44You just think that you're going to die.

00:40:46And you're just hoping for another chance.

00:40:48And you're thinking about everything you did and you're thinking about, is it worth it?

00:40:51You're thinking about, did I make the best of my time?

00:40:54You're thinking about, if I got another chance, what would I do differently?

00:40:58And it's hard to convince somebody who wants to make money now

00:41:01that the damage that they're going to have five or ten years from now

00:41:05is going to be so significant that they won't be able to function appropriately.

00:41:10There's an aspect to society that we want to be entertained.

00:41:14There's nothing like watching Terry Bradshaw throw a 60-yard pass at John Stallworth

00:41:19and he drags both his toes an inch from the end zone line.

00:41:23He catches the ball and makes a touchdown and wins a Super Bowl.

00:41:25A couple of things.

00:41:26I wasn't the sharpest guy, but I was always one that had a really good memory.

00:41:33And I was able to remember plays and recite plays.

00:41:37And still to this day, I can think of high school plays and how to call them

00:41:41as if it were yesterday.

00:41:43But there are things that happen almost daily where I'll meet someone

00:41:51and see them a week later and know I know that person from somewhere,

00:41:55but I can't remember where I met them.

00:41:57And to me, there's absolutely no reason whatsoever that I...

00:42:01There are certain things that I can't remember, whether it be a word.

00:42:06A word that I've said thousands and thousands of times.

00:42:10And I'm like, yeah, I can't.

00:42:13And it happened to me this morning.

00:42:14I was thinking of a person that I know very well

00:42:19that's actually a doctor in my hometown

00:42:23who I saw two days ago and could not think of his name.

00:42:28What used to not bother me before bothers me.

00:42:31I'm sensitive to noise.

00:42:33I forget things.

00:42:35People's names, I can't remember at all.

00:42:36If you tell me your name, it's gone.

00:42:39I have two titanium rods in my neck, in my spine right now

00:42:42with 16 screws, you know, holding me together, you know?

00:42:47So that's one of the things I got from football.

00:42:51Whether it be self-destructing and committing suicide,

00:42:55considering it, losing everything, health declining,

00:43:00not knowing who you are, where you are, where you're going,

00:43:04those are coming up way, way more frequent.

00:43:07And that's scary.

00:43:08Yeah, there were times where we'd sort of get up

00:43:11and we'd kind of look around and say,

00:43:13wow, he got a big hit there.

00:43:14But there was not the consciousness now of,

00:43:17well, we've got to take him in the tent,

00:43:19we've got to have him examined by an unaffiliated

00:43:22neurotrauma surgeon,

00:43:23we have to get him in the locker room,

00:43:25we have to go through these tests.

00:43:26It just wasn't there on our awareness.

00:43:29Taking the helmet-to-helmet contact out of the NFL

00:43:33didn't affect the game one bit.

00:43:35It's still a great game.

00:43:38The style, the grace, the ballet is still there.

00:43:42We love watching it.

00:43:43Athletes suffer,

00:43:44but that's part of making a lot of money as an entertainer.

00:43:47Tonight, we are learning more about

00:43:49former Iowa Hawkeye football standout Tyler Sash,

00:43:52who's in trouble after police say he led them

00:43:54on a chase Saturday in Oskaloosa.

00:43:56So, I guess he rode the scooter

00:43:58to this place here in town

00:44:02where all of his friends were at

00:44:03and then had a drink

00:44:06and then he left

00:44:07and there was a cop sitting there

00:44:09and Tyler, I don't know what his thought process was,

00:44:15but he ditched the scooter

00:44:19when he saw the lights

00:44:21and the cop said he really was just gonna

00:44:23let Tyler know he needed to have a light on that

00:44:26if he was going to be driving it in the dark.

00:44:28They did have to tase him

00:44:30because they thought he wasn't cooperating

00:44:32by putting his arms back to be handcuffed,

00:44:35but he could not put his shoulders into that position.

00:44:38After talking to Tyler after that happened,

00:44:41he was embarrassed

00:44:41and he felt really bad for what he did.

00:44:45He called me

00:44:46because he wanted to tell me

00:44:47before it came out in the news.

00:44:51I know he came over here

00:44:52and talked to my parents and cried.

00:44:54We asked, you know,

00:44:56but why did you do it?

00:44:57And he literally just kept saying,

00:45:00I don't know.

00:45:01I don't really know.

00:45:02I think people, you know,

00:45:04not only does this affect the individual,

00:45:06but the stress and the trauma

00:45:09of taking care of these individuals

00:45:11cannot be underestimated.

00:45:12These people with this disease,

00:45:14they tend to behave erratically.

00:45:16They may be violent.

00:45:17They may be suicidal.

00:45:18They can be homicidal.

00:45:21They can be frightening for the family members.

00:45:23Are you with the patient now?

00:45:26Oh, yes.

00:45:27The baby's crying.

00:45:28He left.

00:45:29Okay.

00:45:29Please put a ambulance here.

00:45:31We're on the way.

00:45:32Where's your son at?

00:45:33He left.

00:45:34He left?

00:45:35Yes.

00:45:35Okay.

00:45:36They were arguing and he shot her?

00:45:38Yes, yes, they were arguing.

00:45:39We got a call here at Arrowhead Stadium

00:45:41to their practice facility

00:45:42in regard to a person

00:45:44who was in the parking lot

00:45:44armed with a handgun.

00:45:47Yeah, Jake, we do have a confirmed shooting

00:45:51and it is, I believe,

00:45:54Belcher plays with the chiefs.

00:45:56So we have confirmed that.

00:45:57So you would head over to that facility.

00:46:00I'm guarantee it's him.

00:46:02336, give me a couple more cars,

00:46:04whether out of district or what.

00:46:06And if somehow, I don't know

00:46:07if Arrowhead's got security or what,

00:46:09but get somebody on the phone.

00:46:12The GM, the O.A.,

00:46:14he's on the one side per lot

00:46:17near a black Mercedes.

00:46:19When the officers arrived,

00:46:20when they were pulling up,

00:46:21they actually observed a black male

00:46:23who had a gun to his head

00:46:24and he was talking to a couple of coaches

00:46:26out in the parking lot.

00:46:27As officers pulled up and began to park,

00:46:30that's when they heard the gun shot

00:46:31and it appears the individual took his own life.

00:46:33A neuropathologist says Belcher's brain

00:46:36showed evidence fully consistent

00:46:38with the pathological presentation

00:46:40of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

00:46:43No one really has an answer for people

00:46:45because they can go to different hospitals

00:46:48and they may not get the advice they need.

00:46:51They may not understand that it's caused by trauma,

00:46:54caused by their exposure to football.

00:46:55So for the families, it's devastating.

00:46:58And it's not just the individual affected,

00:47:01it's everyone around them.

00:47:02Of course I've got CTE,

00:47:04as does anybody, in my opinion, who played ball

00:47:08because Boston University does a study.

00:47:11In the study, 99% of the people

00:47:13that they looked at showed signs of CTE.

00:47:15I'd be a fool not to think that I don't have it.

00:47:18I got my bell rung when I was a little kid.

00:47:21Back then it wasn't, you know,

00:47:22you didn't have these protocols

00:47:23where, you know, you got to go in the locker room

00:47:25and do a certain test and everything.

00:47:27Back then it was, all right, follow my finger.

00:47:29You know, how do you feel?

00:47:31You good?

00:47:32If you did okay, you're back in the game.

00:47:34Drive, Halen.

00:47:38Other way.

00:47:43Keep going.

00:47:45You know, if something was irritating him,

00:47:48you could see it easier,

00:47:50that it was really bothering him.

00:47:52I think before, Tyler just kind of brushed it off.

00:47:54He let things go easier

00:47:55than he did more recently.

00:47:58If he was upset, he just wouldn't talk

00:48:00and he'd leave the room

00:48:01or he would cry.

00:48:03And sometimes, you know,

00:48:04I would ask him why

00:48:05and he couldn't tell me why.

00:48:06And I always thought he didn't want to tell me why,

00:48:09but I really think he didn't know.

00:48:10Eyes on the road.

00:48:12Not on Snapchat.

00:48:14Eyes on the road.

00:48:15Push!

00:48:20Stop!

00:48:22Right by, Thomas.

00:48:23Good job.

00:48:28Found it.

00:48:29All right.

00:48:30I remember when Charles Martin

00:48:32picked me up from behind

00:48:33and slammed me down.

00:48:35That was actually the start of my neck problem.

00:48:37The doctor said,

00:48:38the only way your C1 and 2

00:48:40can get twisted like this

00:48:41is if you get dumped on your head.

00:48:42And I said, well, here's the replay of that.

00:48:46But I told him, I said,

00:48:47that was 1986.

00:48:50And he said,

00:48:50well, you've been struggling since then.

00:48:53And the problem in this area

00:48:55is that players will not help themselves

00:49:00because from Pop Warner and Little League,

00:49:05they're brought up in a culture of denial.

00:49:09He had to clean out his house.

00:49:13And I saw that he had notebook after notebook

00:49:16and he'd barely written in anything.

00:49:19I think he was trying so hard to be organized

00:49:22because he said to me,

00:49:24he couldn't remember anything.

00:49:25And so he thought he'd start out fresh

00:49:28and he'd have a new notebook

00:49:29and he would be organized.

00:49:31Well, I looked at this

00:49:33and it really,

00:49:34it made me feel really sad

00:49:36because to me,

00:49:36this was a visible picture

00:49:38of what CTE does to a mind.

00:49:41This was a night

00:49:42that I watched him on the news

00:49:44and doing this interview

00:49:46and he just kind of struggled

00:49:48for something to say.

00:49:49And when I saw this note,

00:49:51I couldn't believe

00:49:53how confused his mind was

00:49:55because what he wrote

00:49:56at the very top half of the page,

00:49:58he wrote almost identically

00:50:00the same thing

00:50:01on the bottom half of the page.

00:50:02You can see what his thinking,

00:50:05how confused his thinking would have been.

00:50:27I talked to Dave Dewarson

00:50:29probably three months

00:50:29before he killed himself

00:50:30and he seemed like

00:50:33the same old guy

00:50:35but he was a little more reserved,

00:50:37a little quieter

00:50:39and he was explaining to me

00:50:41his frustrations with,

00:50:42you know,

00:50:43I can't remember where I'm at.

00:50:44I get in the car

00:50:45to go pick up my kids,

00:50:46I can't find my way home

00:50:48and I started having

00:50:49those same thoughts

00:50:50and the same,

00:50:51you know,

00:50:52I walked down the hall

00:50:53to the kitchen,

00:50:54I couldn't remember

00:50:55why the hell

00:50:56I went down there.

00:50:56I'd have to go back

00:50:57and start again

00:50:58and it's very frustrating

00:51:00for guys that,

00:51:01you know,

00:51:01we're very competitive people

00:51:03and at the time

00:51:04I couldn't figure out

00:51:04how, you know,

00:51:05it could get so bad

00:51:06that, you know,

00:51:07you'd think about

00:51:07taking your own life

00:51:08but I had the same thoughts.

00:51:10I mean,

00:51:10if I had a gun

00:51:11I probably wouldn't be here.

00:51:14Do you think

00:51:15there is a link

00:51:16between football

00:51:17and degenerative brain disorders

00:51:18like CTE?

00:51:20Well, certainly

00:51:20Dr. McKee's research

00:51:21shows that a number

00:51:22of retired NFL players

00:51:24were diagnosed with CTE

00:51:25so the answer

00:51:27to that question

00:51:27is certainly yes

00:51:28but there's also

00:51:29a number of questions

00:51:30that come with that.

00:51:32What's the answer

00:51:32is in prevalence?

00:51:33I guess I just want

00:51:34is there a link?

00:51:35Yeah, yeah.

00:51:36Because we feel that

00:51:38or I feel

00:51:39that, you know,

00:51:40that was not

00:51:41the unequivocal answer

00:51:43three days

00:51:44before the Super Bowl

00:51:46by Dr. Mitchell Berger.

00:51:48Well, I'm not going

00:51:49to speak for Dr. Berger.

00:51:50Well, you're speaking

00:51:51for the NFL, right?

00:51:56Well, this is just

00:51:57like big tobacco.

00:51:58I mean, they said

00:51:59for years

00:52:00cigarettes don't cause cancer

00:52:01but, you know,

00:52:02obviously we know

00:52:03differently now

00:52:04and it's the same

00:52:04with the NFL.

00:52:05They've known for years

00:52:07when this settlement

00:52:08or we just got

00:52:09this settlement

00:52:11but they had

00:52:12they didn't have to

00:52:13disclose what

00:52:14they actually knew

00:52:14so they, you know,

00:52:17it's still a big lie

00:52:18but at least now

00:52:20it's out in the open.

00:52:21At that time

00:52:21the NFL said

00:52:23to players

00:52:24one concussion

00:52:26has no effect

00:52:27on another

00:52:27doesn't matter

00:52:28how many you get

00:52:30we haven't found

00:52:30any long-term consequences

00:52:32but intuitively

00:52:33you had to understand

00:52:36that something

00:52:38had to be happening.

00:52:39Today, we'd like

00:52:41to inform the public

00:52:41of some of our findings

00:52:43as we continue

00:52:44to investigate

00:52:44the death

00:52:45of Aaron Hernandez.

00:52:47I would have to

00:52:48wonder and ask

00:52:49what your reaction

00:52:50was to this

00:52:51considering how young

00:52:52Aaron Hernandez was.

00:52:54It's very frightening.

00:52:56I was shocked

00:52:57by the information.

00:52:58I was shocked

00:52:59by the recent study

00:53:00of the 110

00:53:02former players

00:53:03111, 110 of them

00:53:05having some form

00:53:07or advanced stages

00:53:09of CTE.

00:53:10The numbers were shocking.

00:53:11The numbers were

00:53:12110 NFL players

00:53:14out of 111

00:53:15that were examined

00:53:16had histologic evidence

00:53:19of CTE.

00:53:21The implication

00:53:21is that individuals

00:53:23who play football

00:53:24particularly football

00:53:25for long periods

00:53:26of time

00:53:27and at a high level

00:53:28develop CTE

00:53:29at a much higher rate

00:53:32than those

00:53:33who do not play football.

00:53:34You could play

00:53:35flag football

00:53:35and that would reduce

00:53:36a considerable amount

00:53:38but there'd be

00:53:39an occasion

00:53:39a guy trips

00:53:40and hits his head

00:53:41or two guys

00:53:41bump into each other

00:53:42and get a concussion

00:53:44but you get

00:53:45maybe two

00:53:46per game

00:53:48as opposed

00:53:49to 20

00:53:50and I still think

00:53:52that there's probably

00:53:53a lot of concussions

00:53:54that are not revealed.

00:53:55There's some good

00:53:56in what they have done

00:53:58as far as putting

00:53:58the right rules

00:53:59in place

00:54:00but it's tackle football

00:54:01and unless

00:54:02you reduce

00:54:04the athlete

00:54:05to 150 pounds

00:54:068 flat 40

00:54:07as weak as can be

00:54:09you're not

00:54:10I mean

00:54:11two guys

00:54:12300 pounds

00:54:13running full speed

00:54:14something's got to give.

00:54:18It was always confusing

00:54:19to us

00:54:20because he would

00:54:21he would say

00:54:22how much he missed

00:54:23his parents

00:54:24and his family

00:54:25but he wouldn't

00:54:26come over.

00:54:27We could never

00:54:28figure that out

00:54:29and now

00:54:30after knowing

00:54:31about the CTE

00:54:32we understood

00:54:32why he didn't

00:54:33come over

00:54:34because he would

00:54:35kind of expose

00:54:36some of the things

00:54:37that were wrong

00:54:38with him

00:54:38and he really

00:54:39bless his heart

00:54:40he tried not to

00:54:42he tried not

00:54:43to let us know

00:54:45all that was going on

00:54:46because he didn't

00:54:47want us to worry

00:54:48about it.

00:54:49The kids over here

00:54:50of course

00:54:51with Uncle Tyler

00:54:52playing softball

00:54:54so he was

00:54:55pitching to them

00:54:56he was running

00:54:57the bases

00:54:58he was trying

00:54:59to tag them out

00:55:00sprinting after

00:55:01all of them

00:55:02and just cheering

00:55:03and kind of acting

00:55:05like his wild self

00:55:06so they all had

00:55:08they all had

00:55:09a lot of fun

00:55:09with that.

00:55:10I remember

00:55:11that we were

00:55:12watching a movie

00:55:13in my grandma

00:55:14and grandpa's bed

00:55:15and we kept

00:55:16on bumping heads

00:55:18together.

00:55:18And she kept

00:55:19saying ow

00:55:20and he said

00:55:20he just

00:55:21does that hurt?

00:55:23No.

00:55:24And he said

00:55:24so why did you

00:55:25say ow

00:55:26and then she'd

00:55:26say it again

00:55:27and so they'd

00:55:28just sit there

00:55:28bumping heads

00:55:29and giggling

00:55:30about it.

00:55:31We were laughing

00:55:32and we were

00:55:33also watching

00:55:34a movie

00:55:34at the same time.

00:55:35When we started

00:55:37building this house

00:55:37I hadn't played

00:55:38but about

00:55:40half of my career.

00:55:43Fortunately

00:55:43I was able

00:55:44to play longer

00:55:46but I also

00:55:47got more game balls

00:55:49the longer you play

00:55:50the more

00:55:50good or bad

00:55:51you get records.

00:55:54So it's like

00:55:54alright

00:55:55then you get to

00:55:56a point

00:55:57when you break

00:55:57a record

00:55:58the next week

00:55:59you're always

00:56:00breaking a record.

00:56:01And I'm like

00:56:02alright

00:56:03we get out

00:56:03the game ball

00:56:04with Brett

00:56:04because this is

00:56:05he just broke

00:56:06the record

00:56:07that he set

00:56:08last week.

00:56:08After a while

00:56:09you know

00:56:09they were like

00:56:10I think the guy's

00:56:11going to play

00:56:11another 100 games

00:56:12so we ain't

00:56:13giving out

00:56:13any more balls.

00:56:14Only with the brain

00:56:16do they not

00:56:17treat that

00:56:18immediately

00:56:19other than

00:56:19the treatment

00:56:19being

00:56:20go into a room

00:56:21turn the lights

00:56:22off

00:56:22don't let somebody

00:56:23talk as loud

00:56:24as I'm talking

00:56:24right now

00:56:25whisper

00:56:27that's not

00:56:27treatment.

00:56:28I know I got it

00:56:29I don't really care

00:56:30about how severe

00:56:31it is

00:56:32it's just

00:56:33I know

00:56:34because

00:56:34that stuff

00:56:35sat in my brain

00:56:36for 20 years

00:56:38I'm lucky

00:56:38to have a brain

00:56:39I guess

00:56:39right now.

00:56:40You still have

00:56:41the same mentality

00:56:41in the players

00:56:42my mentality

00:56:43is to run

00:56:44through you

00:56:44my mentality

00:56:45is to dominate you

00:56:46so no matter

00:56:47what rules

00:56:48you change

00:56:48I'm going to

00:56:49figure out

00:56:49a way around

00:56:50the rules

00:56:50to get that done.

00:56:51You know

00:56:54knowing what

00:56:55I know now

00:56:56probably

00:56:56I wouldn't

00:56:57have played

00:56:57football

00:56:57because my dad

00:56:58didn't want me

00:56:59playing football

00:57:00when I told him

00:57:01that I would

00:57:01want to play

00:57:02football.

00:57:02I wouldn't have

00:57:03played when I was

00:57:03hurt as much

00:57:04as I did

00:57:05but especially

00:57:07the head trauma.

00:57:09Two

00:57:11no there

00:57:12didn't even see

00:57:12Martin behind him

00:57:14well we expected

00:57:16the rough stuff

00:57:16I mean after

00:57:17a concussion

00:57:20I probably wouldn't

00:57:21have went back

00:57:21in the game

00:57:22but back then

00:57:23you did.

00:57:24Would I have

00:57:24done it different

00:57:26had I known

00:57:29I don't know

00:57:30that.

00:57:30I consider myself

00:57:31a warrior

00:57:32you know

00:57:33it meant a lot

00:57:33to me to play

00:57:34and play every play

00:57:35and be accountable

00:57:37game after game

00:57:38and it got to a point

00:57:40where it almost

00:57:40took on a life

00:57:41of itself

00:57:42that I can't miss

00:57:44you know

00:57:44I've come this far

00:57:45I'm not going

00:57:45I'm not going to

00:57:46miss regardless

00:57:48of how much

00:57:49it hurts

00:57:49well you know

00:57:50you're in the moment

00:57:51you're 28

00:57:52you're 33

00:57:53you're 35

00:57:54did one more game

00:57:55or did one more

00:57:56hit

00:57:57or one more play

00:57:58make a tremendous

00:58:00difference in

00:58:01the quality of life

00:58:03after football

00:58:16whenever he came over

00:58:18he bought something

00:58:19for me and my brothers

00:58:21and he would

00:58:22always come over

00:58:23with something for us

00:58:25we played in the

00:58:26backyard

00:58:27who would win

00:58:28your uncle

00:58:29or you

00:58:29and your brother

00:58:30um

00:58:31he would win

00:58:33your uncle

00:58:34Tyler would win

00:58:36birthday to

00:58:38you

00:58:40and Tyler

00:58:44happy birthday to

00:58:47Tyler

00:58:48Tyler was that kind

00:58:50of person that

00:58:51he used what he

00:58:52had to try and

00:58:54benefit

00:58:55Oskaloosa and the

00:58:56kids that were in it

00:58:57they raised a lot of

00:58:58money

00:58:58and then they had a

00:59:00little boy that died

00:59:00of cancer

00:59:01here and

00:59:03um

00:59:03they raised

00:59:05$106,000

00:59:06and there was

00:59:07hundreds and

00:59:08hundreds of people

00:59:08that came out

00:59:09and he sat

00:59:10and he signed

00:59:11autographs for hours

00:59:12until every person

00:59:13that wanted one

00:59:14got an autograph

00:59:15and he made sure

00:59:16that that money

00:59:17went to help

00:59:18that kid as he

00:59:19fought cancer

00:59:20those are just

00:59:21that's a small

00:59:22illustration of some

00:59:23of the things that

00:59:23he did

00:59:24I would say the

00:59:25holy grail here

00:59:26is getting a

00:59:27marker a biomarker

00:59:29to detect CTE

00:59:30in the living

00:59:31that will change

00:59:32everything

00:59:33uh

00:59:34first of all

00:59:34we'll know

00:59:35the prevalence of

00:59:36the disease

00:59:36in college players

00:59:38and maybe high

00:59:38school players

00:59:39uh

00:59:39if we have a way

00:59:40to diagnose it

00:59:41uh

00:59:42during life

00:59:42and importantly

00:59:43if we can find

00:59:44a way to detect

00:59:45it during life

00:59:45not only will

00:59:47we have a diagnosis

00:59:48for individuals

00:59:49that are concerned

00:59:50about it

00:59:50uh

00:59:51but we'll have a way

00:59:52to monitor treatments

00:59:53the NFL

00:59:54has 15 padded practices

00:59:56a year

00:59:57now that is

00:59:58since I retired

01:00:00when I

01:00:01when I was playing

01:00:02you could

01:00:03you know

01:00:03depending on the coach

01:00:04you could practice

01:00:05in pads all the time

01:00:07but yet we're

01:00:07putting our

01:00:08youth

01:00:108, 9, 10

01:00:1211, 12

01:00:13and up

01:00:14uh

01:00:16kids

01:00:17in full pads

01:00:18and we're telling them

01:00:19to go out and tackle

01:00:21which I don't think

01:00:22is a good thing

01:00:22any

01:00:24whether it be

01:00:24for a game

01:00:25or practice

01:00:31I got more

01:00:32interested

01:00:33in looking at

01:00:34this epidemic

01:00:35which is

01:00:35concussion

01:00:36or mild

01:00:36traumatic brain injury

01:00:39knowing that

01:00:39we were going to

01:00:40have to create

01:00:40a drug

01:00:41that could be

01:00:42given longer

01:00:43to be able

01:00:44to handle

01:00:44a period of time

01:00:45when things

01:00:45wax and wane

01:00:46and knowing

01:00:47that the outcome

01:00:48measure

01:00:49to predict

01:00:50its efficacy

01:00:50was not going

01:00:51to be whether

01:00:51the patient

01:00:52survived or not

01:00:53um

01:00:53you know

01:00:54of course

01:00:54for the most part

01:00:55you're going

01:00:55to survive

01:00:56concussion

01:00:57what I realized

01:00:58is we just

01:00:58really had not

01:00:59put any effort

01:01:00into trying

01:01:00to find a way

01:01:01to treat it

01:01:02acutely

01:01:02in hopes

01:01:03that if you

01:01:04could get

01:01:04that pathological

01:01:05cascade

01:01:05of events

01:01:06stopped

01:01:07in the short term

01:01:09uh

01:01:09then you wouldn't

01:01:10end up

01:01:11with post-concussion

01:01:12syndrome

01:01:12in the sports

01:01:13world

01:01:13and especially

01:01:14in the violent

01:01:15sports worlds

01:01:17the individuals

01:01:18are violent

01:01:18and there's a

01:01:20pattern of violence

01:01:21that can spill

01:01:22over into other

01:01:23parts of life

01:01:23here's a flag

01:01:25as

01:01:25whoa

01:01:26hello

01:01:27whoa

01:01:31oh gosh

01:01:33especially when

01:01:34there is

01:01:34something that

01:01:35is perceived

01:01:36as irritating

01:01:37that actually

01:01:38then can be

01:01:39addressed in

01:01:39that impulsive

01:01:41way if you

01:01:41if you will

01:01:42and they've

01:01:43developed protocols

01:01:44to test for

01:01:45concussion

01:01:46that can also

01:01:47be used

01:01:48as a measure

01:01:49of whether

01:01:50a drug for

01:01:51concussion

01:01:51is working

01:01:53all right

01:01:53here we are

01:01:54at the tradition

01:01:56great american

01:01:57we got a lot

01:01:58of the story

01:01:59okay

01:02:04we're gonna go

01:02:08to the clinic

01:02:11so what will

01:02:13happen is

01:02:14in phase 1b

01:02:15there will be

01:02:15a concussed

01:02:16patient

01:02:16at the hospital

01:02:17right down the

01:02:17road

01:02:18they will be

01:02:19transitioned here

01:02:20there will be

01:02:20intake done

01:02:21in this room

01:02:22they will have

01:02:23the drug

01:02:23delivered nasally

01:02:24in this room

01:02:25and then they

01:02:26will sit in here

01:02:27and have blood

01:02:28draws and testing

01:02:29after that drug

01:02:29for a period

01:02:30off and on

01:02:31once a day

01:02:32for five days

01:02:33football has

01:02:34increased awareness

01:02:35of brain injury

01:02:36and it's increased

01:02:37awareness of the

01:02:38consequences of brain

01:02:39injury and that's

01:02:39been good for all

01:02:40of society

01:02:41i think what's

01:02:42important to realize

01:02:43is that sports

01:02:44have risk benefit

01:02:45and it's in my

01:02:47opinion not proven

01:02:48to ban activities

01:02:50without understanding

01:02:51the full ramifications

01:02:52of such a ban

01:02:54we looked at 53

01:02:55college players

01:02:57and 48

01:02:58had cte

01:02:59for about 91%

01:03:01and then we also

01:03:02looked at

01:03:02high school players

01:03:04and we had

01:03:0421 high school

01:03:05players that had

01:03:06come into the bank

01:03:07and three of those

01:03:08had cte

01:03:10but what that

01:03:11study says

01:03:12is that this

01:03:13can affect

01:03:14amateur athletes

01:03:15this can affect

01:03:16players who don't

01:03:17go on to play

01:03:18professionally

01:03:19and at least

01:03:20in our experience

01:03:21it's fairly common

01:03:22my husband

01:03:24said one day

01:03:25he remembers

01:03:26tyler getting up

01:03:28after getting hit

01:03:28by this kid

01:03:29and tyler had

01:03:30tears in his eyes

01:03:32and i never

01:03:33i never saw that

01:03:34and i never knew

01:03:35that

01:03:35he even remembers

01:03:36sometimes

01:03:37when tyler was

01:03:39in maybe

01:03:40third or fourth

01:03:41grade football

01:03:42and he

01:03:44he was kind of

01:03:46dazed coming off

01:03:47the field after

01:03:47a hit

01:03:48and i remember

01:03:50my dad

01:03:50getting very

01:03:51choked up

01:03:52about

01:03:52telling him

01:03:54that he was

01:03:54alright

01:03:55and sending him

01:03:56back out there

01:03:56because it's just

01:03:57you know

01:03:58it's just

01:03:59the competitive

01:04:00nature of it

01:04:02like you can

01:04:03work through this

01:04:04and you think

01:04:07that hardcore

01:04:08competitive

01:04:10spirit

01:04:10like nothing

01:04:12can break me

01:04:13is exactly

01:04:14what broke

01:04:14my brother

01:04:15another thing

01:04:16is that people

01:04:17think that

01:04:17you know

01:04:18college athletes

01:04:19are catered to

01:04:20and you know

01:04:21maybe

01:04:21maybe they are

01:04:22in some

01:04:23in some ways

01:04:24but i think

01:04:25that those people

01:04:26also don't realize

01:04:27the cost

01:04:28to those athletes

01:04:30for what

01:04:31for their pleasure

01:04:32for their entertainment

01:04:34you know

01:04:35that they get

01:04:36on a saturday

01:04:36or a sunday

01:04:37how much it actually

01:04:38costs those people

01:04:39i told my husband

01:04:40i said honey

01:04:41you know

01:04:41because he played football

01:04:43you know

01:04:43i said

01:04:43and he loves sports

01:04:45and i said

01:04:45if you want to go

01:04:46you go

01:04:47and he said

01:04:47no i don't

01:04:48i don't want to go

01:04:49because i don't want

01:04:50to keep him back

01:04:51just because i can't

01:04:52watch it anymore

01:04:52so i just

01:04:54see more than i want

01:04:55to see

01:04:55we've had kids

01:04:56from our church

01:04:57their parents

01:04:58have asked me

01:04:59what do you think

01:05:00should we let our

01:05:01kid play

01:05:01you know

01:05:02should we let him

01:05:02play

01:05:03and like i had

01:05:04one dad say

01:05:05well my son's a senior

01:05:06you know

01:05:06and i'm like

01:05:07you know

01:05:08you have to do

01:05:09what you have to do

01:05:10what's really

01:05:11i take from

01:05:12looking at all this

01:05:12is how fast time

01:05:13goes by

01:05:15and

01:05:17life goes on man

01:05:19you know

01:05:19when i coached

01:05:22and my two daughters

01:05:23if they were here

01:05:24right now

01:05:24they'd tell you

01:05:25the same thing

01:05:25dad's always talking

01:05:26about

01:05:27enjoy the moment

01:05:29because before you

01:05:30know it

01:05:31you look back

01:05:33and you go

01:05:33i remember us having

01:05:34that discussion

01:05:35and that was

01:05:3510 years ago

01:05:36what happens

01:05:37when you go

01:05:38from birth

01:05:39through those

01:05:39early 20s

01:05:40when brain development

01:05:42continues and develops

01:05:43what happens

01:05:44if it's interrupted

01:05:45along the way

01:05:46so for example

01:05:47if a child

01:05:48really hits

01:05:49the frontal regions

01:05:51of the brain

01:05:52and sustains injury

01:05:53there

01:05:54at age say

01:05:558 or 9

01:05:56we might not really

01:05:57see what's happening

01:05:58to that brain

01:05:59and that brain development

01:06:00until the child

01:06:01is 16, 17

01:06:02or 18

01:06:02if 50%

01:06:04of the moms

01:06:05in this country

01:06:06understand

01:06:08the danger

01:06:09of playing

01:06:10football

01:06:11and tell

01:06:12their teenage boys

01:06:13you can play

01:06:15any sport

01:06:15and your dad

01:06:17and I will back

01:06:18you

01:06:18but not tackle

01:06:20football

01:06:20it won't kill

01:06:22football

01:06:22it will just

01:06:24change the

01:06:25socioeconomics

01:06:26but they need it

01:06:27to escape

01:06:28economic poverty

01:06:29they'll play

01:06:31the state

01:06:32the state

01:06:33has limited

01:06:33the amount

01:06:33of time

01:06:34that you can

01:06:34have full contact

01:06:35and teach

01:06:36how to tackle

01:06:38which in turn

01:06:39turns it around

01:06:42they sent this

01:06:43to you guys

01:06:44sent it to the high school

01:06:46so like

01:06:47it's like

01:06:48it's called

01:06:48the high school

01:06:49honor roll

01:06:49so they did this

01:06:50at the 5th year

01:06:53and they sent

01:06:54a football

01:06:54gold football

01:06:55to every

01:06:56every high school

01:06:57that had a

01:06:59a player play

01:07:00in any Super Bowl

01:07:02for the last

01:07:0250 years

01:07:07you see a lot

01:07:08of guys

01:07:09retiring early

01:07:09young guys

01:07:11not even at the

01:07:12peak of their career

01:07:12they haven't even

01:07:13gotten to that point

01:07:14retiring

01:07:14we're looking at

01:07:15a dangerous

01:07:16full contact sport

01:07:17where too many

01:07:18players play too long

01:07:20and therefore suffer

01:07:21physical consequences

01:07:22including especially

01:07:23importantly CTE

01:07:24there's an enormous

01:07:25backlash against that

01:07:27that I believe

01:07:27is a bigger threat

01:07:28to the game

01:07:29than anything

01:07:29in terms of

01:07:30marginalizing the game

01:07:31but football's here

01:07:32to stay

01:07:33I love watching it

01:07:34at what age

01:07:35do you start

01:07:36playing tackle football

01:07:37I wouldn't let kids

01:07:38put helmets on

01:07:39until they were

01:07:40juniors in high school

01:07:40they should stop

01:07:41playing football

01:07:42as a junior

01:07:43there's no reason

01:07:44whatsoever

01:07:45for anybody

01:07:46to have any kind

01:07:47of contact

01:07:47in my opinion

01:07:48before the age of 12

01:07:49my son is 8

01:07:49he plays football

01:07:50he plays tackle as well

01:07:52the only reason

01:07:53that he plays

01:07:53is because I'm the coach

01:07:54there's nobody

01:07:55that can coach

01:07:57my son better than me

01:07:58I think I would

01:07:59come down on the side

01:08:00of saying

01:08:01we shouldn't have

01:08:02sports in this society

01:08:04that we know

01:08:05injure kids brains

01:08:06if everyone plays

01:08:08flag football

01:08:09until you're 17

01:08:12then during that time

01:08:14you can teach

01:08:15tackling fundamentals

01:08:16without tackling

01:08:18I really don't see

01:08:19I really don't see

01:08:19any reason

01:08:20why someone

01:08:20would need to

01:08:21play tackle football

01:08:22until they're

01:08:23in high school

01:08:24I had two

01:08:25teenage sons

01:08:27both of them

01:08:28had heard me

01:08:30talk about this

01:08:30many times

01:08:33and both of them

01:08:34played

01:08:34you know

01:08:35I think there's

01:08:36a risk at any age

01:08:37but at least

01:08:37when you're

01:08:38old enough

01:08:39to make a decision

01:08:40for yourself

01:08:40I think that's

01:08:41when you should

01:08:42start playing

01:08:42tackle football

01:08:43so maybe that's

01:08:4418

01:08:45you know

01:08:46I see sports

01:08:47can be a way

01:08:48out from a tough

01:08:48situation

01:08:50but you can still

01:08:51do it a better way

01:08:51you know

01:08:52we like to tell

01:08:53people with football

01:08:54no one's getting

01:08:55recruited off of

01:08:56their 5th grade film

01:08:57right

01:08:58you can still have

01:08:59a great football

01:09:00career waiting

01:09:00until high school

01:09:01for the tackle part

01:09:02don't play tackle

01:09:03football too young

01:09:04there's a sort

01:09:05of an inflection

01:09:05point that if you

01:09:06play before 12

01:09:07and you get hit

01:09:08in the head

01:09:08while your brain

01:09:09is still developing

01:09:09you're worse off

01:09:10in the long run

01:09:11you have a greater

01:09:11risk of having

01:09:12symptoms

01:09:13or a greater risk

01:09:14of having

01:09:14earlier symptoms

01:09:15related to CT

01:09:16or brain damage

01:09:17I just think

01:09:18that you pass

01:09:19a law that says

01:09:20no tackling

01:09:21until the age

01:09:22of 17

01:09:22if you don't

01:09:24want to give

01:09:25a cell phone

01:09:26to a 10

01:09:27or 12 year old

01:09:29because their skull

01:09:30is not fully developed

01:09:31then why are we

01:09:33putting a football

01:09:35helmet

01:09:36on a 10

01:09:37or 12 year old

01:09:38I have a 12 year

01:09:40old son

01:09:42and I don't want

01:09:43him playing football

01:09:44but his mom

01:09:45insists that he

01:09:46plays football

01:09:48he's had two

01:09:48concussions already

01:09:49and his mom

01:09:50still insists

01:09:51that he plays

01:09:53go figure

01:09:55all the work

01:09:56that I've done

01:09:56with these doctors

01:09:57the past couple

01:09:57of years

01:09:58and what they've

01:09:59told me about

01:10:00the head trauma

01:10:00he said there's

01:10:02probably 90%

01:10:02of kids shouldn't

01:10:03be playing

01:10:04because their necks

01:10:05and their heads

01:10:05are just not

01:10:06strong enough

01:10:07like you've probably

01:10:09never heard of

01:10:09Pat Dye

01:10:11legendary coach

01:10:12he's what

01:10:13Bear Bryant

01:10:14is to Alabama

01:10:15he is to Auburn

01:10:16he actually

01:10:17coached under

01:10:20under him

01:10:21was really

01:10:21his mentor

01:10:22was Bear Bryant

01:10:22but we go stay

01:10:24at Pat Dye's

01:10:25house every year

01:10:26we do a bike ride

01:10:27at Bo Bikes

01:10:27Bama

01:10:28just outside

01:10:29of Auburn

01:10:31and he shows

01:10:32me around

01:10:32his place

01:10:34and

01:10:35you gotta

01:10:36coach Dye

01:10:37is 78 years old

01:10:38but he's still

01:10:39sharp as a tad

01:10:40he goes

01:10:41he says

01:10:41alright

01:10:42this is y'all's room

01:10:43this is our kitchen

01:10:46we kinda hang out

01:10:47in the living room

01:10:48right here

01:10:48he says

01:10:49now the upstairs

01:10:50bedroom

01:10:50is

01:10:51we go over here

01:10:52and he said

01:10:54now that room

01:10:55really don't mean

01:10:56a hell of a lot

01:10:57it's got

01:10:57my memorabilia

01:10:59in it

01:10:59he said

01:10:59I'm 78 years old

01:11:01ain't none of it

01:11:03means

01:11:03a hill of beans

01:11:04he said

01:11:05I'm still thankful

01:11:07in many ways

01:11:08that Tyler playing football

01:11:10brought us together

01:11:11so many times

01:11:12we went to

01:11:13Josh was away

01:11:15but the rest of us

01:11:16went to most of the games

01:11:18all of the games

01:11:19together

01:11:19and Josh came back

01:11:21for as many as he could

01:11:22so

01:11:23you know

01:11:24we probably would not

01:11:25have enjoyed

01:11:26that

01:11:27that time

01:11:28together

01:11:29I just couldn't

01:11:30even bring myself

01:11:31to watch it

01:11:31because it wouldn't

01:11:32ever be what it once was

01:11:34it just

01:11:35flatlined for me

01:11:38you know

01:11:39I know there's a lot

01:11:39of guys out there

01:11:40that would still

01:11:41play football

01:11:41even knowing

01:11:42all the facts

01:11:45but I'd like them

01:11:46to

01:11:46make them all aware

01:11:48of it

01:11:48when they come in

01:11:49as a rookie

01:11:50and let them choose

01:11:52sometimes it's good

01:11:53to talk about it

01:11:55you know

01:11:56it's not always good

01:11:57and there's times

01:11:58when I get to a place

01:11:59where I have to say

01:12:00Lord I can't go there

01:12:01you know I can't

01:12:02think about that

01:12:05and I guess

01:12:06there's other times

01:12:07that I just feel like

01:12:08I don't want other people

01:12:10to have to go through this

01:12:11I want to help the cause

01:12:13I want the awareness

01:12:15to be out there

01:12:16and I feel like

01:12:17I'd be honoring Tyler

01:12:18because he'd like

01:12:19to help people

01:12:20you know

01:12:21one of the things

01:12:21that really hurts me

01:12:23is when I look at

01:12:24Tyler's baby pictures

01:12:26and him as a little boy

01:12:29you know

01:12:30you think of an NFL player

01:12:32you think there's

01:12:32some big tough guy

01:12:33but this is

01:12:34somebody's child

01:12:36this is a little boy

01:12:38that was blessed

01:12:39with that talent

01:12:42it's just hard

01:12:44to see

01:12:44see that

01:12:45and think of

01:12:46what could have been

01:12:49what

01:12:49you could have had

01:12:50grandchildren

01:12:51you know

01:12:52we were planning

01:12:53on more grandchildren

01:12:54and Tyler helped me

01:12:55put together a crib

01:12:57that I

01:12:58never bought a new one

01:12:59for any of my own

01:13:00children

01:13:01but when the grandkids

01:13:03came along

01:13:03I bought a new one

01:13:04and Tyler helped me

01:13:05put it together

01:13:06and

01:13:07totally planned on

01:13:08having more grandchildren

01:13:10and a future

01:13:11you know

01:13:12for Tyler

01:13:13but

01:13:14it wasn't in the plan

01:13:15and so

01:13:17God's ways

01:13:18are

01:13:20are different

01:13:21than our ways

01:13:21and I accept that

01:13:25the story

01:13:26of Tyler Sash

01:13:27in some ways

01:13:28revealing of what

01:13:29this CTE is about

01:13:31obviously in the prime

01:13:33of his

01:13:33I say career

01:13:34but also in his life

01:13:36probably the most healthy

01:13:37he would ever be

01:13:40by all accounts

01:13:42was

01:13:42was a

01:13:43a model citizen

01:13:45I think

01:13:46good things

01:13:47will come from

01:13:48Tyler's story

01:13:52former Hawkeye football

01:13:54star Tyler Sash

01:13:55found dead

01:13:55in his Oskaloosa home

01:13:56in September

01:13:57diagnosed Tyler with

01:13:59CTE

01:14:00it's a degenerative brain disease

01:14:01caused by repeated trauma

01:14:02it's rarely seen

01:14:03in someone Sash's age

01:14:07the shock of the

01:14:08death of Tyler Sash

01:14:10I mean that

01:14:10I haven't seen Tyler

01:14:11in a couple of years

01:14:12I didn't see that coming

01:14:13obviously

01:14:14our condolences

01:14:15go out to his family

01:14:17and his friends

01:14:17and all those that

01:14:18cared for him

01:14:19he was an outstanding

01:14:20teammate now

01:14:21there's

01:14:21when he was here

01:14:22during the time

01:14:23he was here

01:14:24the players

01:14:25really enjoyed

01:14:26Tyler Sash

01:14:31we traveled back here

01:14:33for Labor Day weekend

01:14:34in 2015

01:14:36came on a Friday

01:14:38and my husband

01:14:39didn't come with us

01:14:40because he had a

01:14:41a bachelor party

01:14:42and they were in Ames

01:14:44and so

01:14:44I brought the kids

01:14:45and Friday night

01:14:46Tyler came over

01:14:48with his girlfriend

01:14:48and Halen

01:14:49kids all played together

01:14:51and their favorite

01:14:52thing to do

01:14:52is

01:14:53slide down the stairs

01:14:54here at Grandma

01:14:55and Grandpa's

01:14:56or have a

01:14:56a dance party

01:14:57dance competition

01:14:59Tyler would play

01:15:00some crazy music

01:15:00and make a mage

01:15:02take a turn

01:15:02dancing

01:15:03so that was

01:15:04that was pretty fun

01:15:05for them

01:15:06there was an Iowa game

01:15:08my brother had just

01:15:09moved in

01:15:09to a house there

01:15:10in Ottumwa

01:15:11so we all traveled

01:15:12down to Ottumwa

01:15:13and watched the game

01:15:15there

01:15:15with Tyler

01:15:16and Tyler

01:15:18was very confused

01:15:19that day

01:15:20he

01:15:21multiple times

01:15:22asked me

01:15:23I take

01:15:24Advocare Spark

01:15:25and he multiple times

01:15:26asked me

01:15:27if he could have a spark

01:15:28and I was like

01:15:30you just had one

01:15:31and I said

01:15:32you can have another one

01:15:33I don't care

01:15:33and he'd make another spark

01:15:35and then he would say

01:15:38hey anybody know

01:15:39where my drink is

01:15:40and it was probably

01:15:42five times

01:15:43that he

01:15:44he would ask

01:15:45where his drink went

01:15:46and we're like

01:15:46it's right there

01:15:47on the counter

01:15:47right where you left it

01:15:48he went and played

01:15:49with the kids there

01:15:50we watched the game

01:15:51and I know Tyler

01:15:53fell asleep

01:15:54during that game

01:15:56which wasn't like him

01:15:58at all

01:15:58and he kept saying

01:16:00that he had allergies

01:16:01like my mom

01:16:02and he kept saying

01:16:04that his head hurt

01:16:06well Tyler

01:16:07came over Sunday

01:16:08and he was playing

01:16:09out in the backyard

01:16:10with them all

01:16:11you know all day

01:16:12it was really a hot day

01:16:14and he

01:16:15you know

01:16:15just was sprinting

01:16:16up and down the yard

01:16:17and throwing balls

01:16:18and they were just doing

01:16:19all kinds of fun things

01:16:21and they were laughing

01:16:22and having fun

01:16:23and the kids all played

01:16:24and that's when they had

01:16:25the softball game

01:16:26here in the back

01:16:27and we all just

01:16:29hung out as a family

01:16:30and he seemed better

01:16:31on Sunday

01:16:32than what he was

01:16:33on Saturday

01:16:34grandson was in the house

01:16:36sleeping

01:16:37and I came in

01:16:38to check on him

01:16:39and meanwhile

01:16:39Tyler had come in

01:16:41and

01:16:43but then

01:16:44right before he left here

01:16:46on

01:16:47on that Sunday night

01:16:49he

01:16:50it was the strangest thing

01:16:52he

01:16:52went to get a drink

01:16:54at the sink

01:16:55in the kitchen

01:16:57and

01:16:58after he took his drink

01:16:59he

01:16:59he dropped to his knee

01:17:01and

01:17:02really just like

01:17:03grabbed his head

01:17:04and

01:17:05sat here

01:17:06for about

01:17:0715-20 seconds

01:17:08and I was looking at him

01:17:10and I said

01:17:11Ty

01:17:11I said

01:17:12what's wrong honey

01:17:13and he said

01:17:14I just feel like

01:17:16I could die

01:17:16and we're like

01:17:17what is wrong

01:17:18and he said

01:17:19my head hurts

01:17:20so bad

01:17:23and that's haunted me

01:17:24ever since then

01:17:26because I thought

01:17:27what could have been

01:17:28going on with him

01:17:30to make that statement

01:17:32and then

01:17:33he just stood up

01:17:34ran out the backyard

01:17:35and started playing

01:17:36with the kids

01:17:37all over again

01:17:38and so I

01:17:39you know

01:17:40I didn't think much

01:17:41of it at the time

01:17:43later that day

01:17:44Tyler

01:17:44left with his girlfriend

01:17:46and her little girl

01:17:47and

01:17:47he said

01:17:48they were going to go

01:17:49get something to eat

01:17:50he

01:17:52called me about

01:17:53I think it was

01:17:54quarter till nine

01:17:55that night

01:17:55and he said

01:17:56mom did I leave

01:17:56my billfold there

01:17:57I can't find it

01:17:59and I said

01:18:00look

01:18:01and so I looked

01:18:02around the house

01:18:03and I

01:18:05I couldn't find it

01:18:06and I said

01:18:07no I don't see it

01:18:08here anywhere honey

01:18:09and he said

01:18:09I was just going to

01:18:10buy a couple Gatorades

01:18:11and so she gave him

01:18:12a $20 bill

01:18:14and I really hardly

01:18:15talked with him

01:18:16because he'd been here

01:18:17all day

01:18:17and I was helping

01:18:19the grandkids

01:18:19getting them ready

01:18:20to get to bed

01:18:21so he left

01:18:27Monday

01:18:27would have been

01:18:28the day

01:18:28I left

01:18:29town

01:18:30because my kids

01:18:31had school

01:18:31on Tuesday

01:18:32and so I took

01:18:33them back

01:18:33on Monday

01:18:34and I had texted

01:18:35him when I left

01:18:36town

01:18:36but I thought

01:18:37he was busy

01:18:37because he was

01:18:38supposed to be

01:18:39at a party

01:18:39with his girlfriend

01:18:40and so I didn't

01:18:42think anything of it

01:18:43that he didn't

01:18:43message me back

01:18:44took the dog

01:18:45for a walk

01:18:46and I went over

01:18:46to his house

01:18:47and I opened

01:18:47the door

01:18:48and I saw him

01:18:48sleeping on the couch

01:18:51and so the dog

01:18:52came running

01:18:53to the door

01:18:53and I took her

01:18:54and we went

01:18:55for an hour walk

01:18:55and I came back

01:18:57and he was still

01:18:58asleep

01:18:58and I was really

01:18:59surprised

01:19:00because he did

01:19:01not sleep very well

01:19:02so I kind of

01:19:03snuck in

01:19:04and tiptoed

01:19:05really pretty close

01:19:06to him

01:19:06that I could have

01:19:07reached out

01:19:07and touched him

01:19:08and I didn't

01:19:08look at him

01:19:12I hadn't heard

01:19:13from him

01:19:14yet that morning

01:19:15it was still

01:19:168.30

01:19:179 o'clock

01:19:18and then I hadn't

01:19:19heard from him

01:19:19the day before

01:19:20which is when

01:19:20I assumed

01:19:21he was catching

01:19:21up on his sleep

01:19:22I got a text message

01:19:24from his girlfriend

01:19:25saying

01:19:26hey have you

01:19:28heard from Tyler

01:19:29she said

01:19:29Jane

01:19:30just text me

01:19:32and said

01:19:33that Tyler's medicine

01:19:34is still here

01:19:35at the pharmacy

01:19:36from yesterday

01:19:37and he hasn't

01:19:39come today yet

01:19:40and I asked her

01:19:40you know

01:19:41if she saw him

01:19:41before she left

01:19:42and she hadn't

01:19:43and so she was

01:19:45going to get a hold

01:19:45of her mom

01:19:46and that's when

01:19:46we kind of

01:19:47put everything together

01:19:47my daughter

01:19:49had called

01:19:50and said

01:19:51that

01:19:53his girlfriend

01:19:54had called her

01:19:55and said

01:19:56she had text

01:19:56Tyler a few times

01:19:57and she didn't

01:19:58hear back from him

01:19:59she was concerned

01:20:01she said

01:20:01are you going

01:20:02over there

01:20:02to get Bella

01:20:03and I said

01:20:04yeah I'll be over

01:20:04there probably

01:20:05in a half an hour

01:20:06so I felt a little

01:20:08sense of relief

01:20:09and then I

01:20:10then that fear

01:20:11started creeping

01:20:12back up in me

01:20:13and I said

01:20:13I said just go

01:20:15make sure

01:20:15because I thought

01:20:16you know

01:20:17she didn't talk

01:20:17to him

01:20:18so I went over

01:20:19and I

01:20:21opened the door

01:20:21the dog was

01:20:23sitting in the chair

01:20:23scared to death

01:20:25I opened the door

01:20:26and she bolted

01:20:27right for me

01:20:28I took her out

01:20:28and put her in my car

01:20:30I could see him

01:20:33and so I went back

01:20:34in after I got

01:20:35the dog

01:20:36and I

01:20:37it was like

01:20:38somebody else

01:20:38was inside my body

01:20:40walking up to my son

01:20:41looking at him

01:20:44because I knew

01:20:45it would be the last

01:20:45time I'd ever

01:20:46see his face

01:20:48and it wasn't

01:20:49a good picture

01:20:52and I just

01:20:55I don't know

01:20:56I was hoping

01:20:57to get some kind

01:20:57of peace

01:20:58by seeing him

01:21:01but I

01:21:02but I didn't get that

01:21:04his sister Megan

01:21:05called me

01:21:06and was crying

01:21:07hysterically

01:21:08and I couldn't

01:21:08really understand

01:21:09what she was saying

01:21:10all I could make out

01:21:11was she kept saying

01:21:12he's gone

01:21:13he's gone

01:21:13Heather

01:21:15and then I

01:21:16started crying

01:21:16and I picked up

01:21:18my stuff

01:21:22and

01:21:24went out the door

01:21:25and went over

01:21:26to the house

01:21:28I just stayed outside

01:21:30because the police

01:21:31were just getting there

01:21:32and then eventually

01:21:33his mom came out

01:21:34and said he was gone

01:21:39in a sea of stars

01:21:43I can find you shining

01:21:54reflections on the water

01:22:01for a million miles

01:22:09just don't say goodbye

01:22:29and when you feel like flying

01:22:35and when you feel like flying

01:22:42I still see it

01:22:45in the shadow

01:22:48if you could have

01:22:49two minutes with Tyler

01:22:50what would you tell him?

01:22:56oh that's a hard one

01:22:59two minutes huh

01:23:01this is the two minute drill

01:23:05I guess I would tell him

01:23:07how sorry that I was

01:23:10that I didn't know

01:23:13that I didn't have

01:23:15the compassion for him

01:23:17because I didn't understand

01:23:19because as a parent

01:23:21I was still hard on him

01:23:24I didn't understand

01:23:26why he wasn't going

01:23:28to get a job

01:23:28even though he couldn't

01:23:30his mind was not there

01:23:33I just thought

01:23:34I needed to use

01:23:35tough love on him

01:23:38but I would have told him

01:23:40that I was so sorry

01:23:42Tyler was the type of person

01:23:43that especially

01:23:45in the last couple

01:23:46years of his life

01:23:48would just randomly text me

01:23:51and say

01:23:51I love you Megan

01:23:52I'm so proud of you

01:23:54for this this and this

01:23:55he just didn't

01:23:56leave it unsaid

01:23:58he he made sure

01:23:59to tell the people

01:24:00that he loved

01:24:01how much he cared

01:24:02about them

01:24:03and so because

01:24:04he did that

01:24:05it was reciprocated

01:24:06by by me

01:24:08and him and I

01:24:10had many of those

01:24:11heartfelt conversations

01:24:13I think I'd

01:24:15tell him I loved him

01:24:16and I would have done

01:24:18anything for him

01:24:19but I know

01:24:20he already knows that

01:24:24I'd tell him I loved him

01:24:25I'd tell him how much

01:24:28we care about

01:24:30what he stood for

01:24:32that's what I'd say

01:24:33that's what I'd do

01:24:35because

01:24:36you know

01:24:38special person

01:24:42you know

01:24:43a special

01:24:44special family

01:24:45person

01:24:47a great player

01:24:49I would tell him that

01:24:50and it had nothing to do

01:24:52with football

01:24:52I'd tell him I loved him

01:24:54and I'd tell him

01:24:54what he stood for

01:24:56was really important

01:24:57I'm still kind of

01:24:58lost

01:24:59I don't really know

01:25:01where I want to be yet

01:25:03or

01:25:04what I'm doing

01:25:07I just hope

01:25:08everyone listens

01:25:09and

01:25:10the awareness

01:25:11is raised for it

01:25:13the facts come out

01:25:16thanks

01:25:41did that hurt?

01:25:42no

01:25:44then why did you say ouch?

01:25:57what do you miss most

01:25:58about your uncle today?

01:26:00no

01:26:09for people

01:26:1015-20 years down the road

01:26:12I'd want them to say

01:26:13that kid came out

01:26:14every day

01:26:15no matter what it was

01:26:17he'd do it

01:26:17he'd get it done

01:26:19and he'd work hard

01:26:20he was a good role model

01:26:21for kids

01:26:22kids looked up to him

01:26:24and

01:26:24he was a leader

01:26:36well the good news

01:26:37well the good news is

01:26:37that my son knows Jesus

01:26:40and my son's gonna be

01:26:42waiting for me

01:26:43on the other side

01:26:44and so I have that hope

01:26:46good news

01:27:13and so I'll be back to it

01:27:15so I'm sorry

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