On a recent episode of the CTESPN podcast, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell questioned whether they might have CTE.
CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) is a progressive brain disease that affects people who’ve suffered repeated concussions, especially NFL players.
During the interview, both denied having the disease, but Bell pointed out the harsh truth that they won’t know for sure until they’re gone, and their brains can be studied.
Brown gave his own take on what CTE means to him. “I don’t want to say it’s brain damage because you can’t live if it’s brain damage,” he said. He believes people misinterpret CTE as just being about concussions. “We had a bunch of concussions. You could live after a concussion,” he added.
For Brown, CTE is more about the trauma players face growing up in the sport.
“As a kid, you just become more aggressive. You develop anger. We all grow with our trauma,” Brown said.
With both players opening up about the unknowns they’re facing after years on the field, it’s a real look at how football impacts them mentally.
