CTE is nothing to joke about.
Head trauma has been a huge source of debate in the contact sports world over the past few years. After a few football players took their own lives, research was conducted in order to find out what was going on inside of their heads. The ensuing research resulted in the discovery of a brain disease called CTE. The disease is caused by repeated head trauma and can only be detected after someone has died. NFL players are particularly susceptible to the disease because of the repeated hits to the head. Despite the severity of the disease, fans continue to use it as an insult when a player exhibits unusual behavior.
Former NFL star Dez Bryant was the recipient of this insult during a recent Twitter exchange. Bryant made a suggestion about Eli Manning to the Cleveland Browns which prompted a fan to tell him “CTE hittin different.” Of course, Bryant took exception to this and set the fan straight.
“On some real shit why people use the word CTE like it’s a thing to say? thats not a joke thing or word to be throwing around lightly… soon as a player say fuck you.. don’t be on that victim shit…but this exactly why I live and not care what others think,” Bryant wrote.
Fans on Twitter can be pretty ruthless so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that someone overstepped their bounds like this. Some people just don’t know when to quit although it was good to see Bryant use his platform to bring some seriousness to the issue.