Ann McKee Quotes

Kids’ brains are developing. Their heads are a larger part of their body, and their necks are not as strong as adults’ necks. So kids may be at a greater risk of head and brain injuries than adults.

I definitely agree about the future of youth football being flag. There’s just more and more evidence that the youth brain is particularly susceptible to the injury – thin necks, big heads. They’re not as coordinated; they’re not as skillful. For many reasons, I think the wave of the future is flag football for youth.

My brothers played football. In fact, I was an absolutely enormous Packer fan, and because I was raised in such a football-centric community, I have always had a terrific admiration for football players.

My three children played soccer and lacrosse. I grew up as a Green Bay Packers fan. I am not against sports. We want kids to play sports, but we want them to be safe.

Junior Seau’s CTE finding raises a lot of issues for everyone. He is such a beacon. He was so young when he died. He was an active player for so long. He was such an amazing individual who was well loved by his teammates and his community.

My son was a goalkeeper in soccer, and he luckily never had much head trauma. He never had any concussions or anything. I really wanted him to play football, but now I’m thankful he didn’t.

Is there a way that we would actually recognize the game of football with fewer tackles and fewer collisions? I’m not sure. But I think that’s the direction we’re going to have to go. Bigger fields? Fewer players on the field? I think we are ultimately going to have to change some of the major rules of the game.

It’s impossible for me to dissociate the risk of playing football from the risk of C.T.E.

I was born and raised right outside of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

While we know, on average, that certain positions experience more repetitive head impacts and are more likely at greater risk for CTE, no position is immune.

Subconcussive injuries are brain injuries on top of unrecovered brain injuries.

I’m concerned about the future of football, because we have paid a lot of attention to concussions. We are more aware of concussions. But it’s really the repetitive minor injuries, the ones that are asymptomatic that occur on almost every play of the game, the sub-concussive hits: that’s the big problem for football.

I’m a Cheesehead.

Dave Duerson had classic pathology of CTE and no evidence of any other disease.

My greatest hope is that we learn how trauma induces neurodegeneration in susceptible individuals.

I have a little easier time watching the NFL than college or high school. I used to go to the high school games, and now I have trouble with it. The NFL players get big rewards from it. I feel at least the NFL has made big changes to help their safety. And they’re adults – they can make good decisions.

This is what I do. I look at brains. I’m fascinated by it. I can spend hours doing it. In fact, if I want to relax, that’s one way I can relax.

Families don’t donate brains of their loved ones unless they’re concerned about the person.

Our national identity is so interwoven with football.

Frankly, I think it should be no football until you‘re physically mature.

The beginnings of CTE can start quite early.

I love football.

It’s almost un-American to say that you want to change football.

I do love the way the brain looks. I love the way it’s shaped.

I run a number of different brain banks.

If football is your passion in life and you would rather play football for 20 years and have a shortened life span, that’s your choice.

Football is an American sport. Everyone loves it. I certainly would never want to ban football.

Football has a future. I don’t know what that future is. I’m a physician.

Nothing good happens without a penalty.

I do have a son. He’s out of school now. He never played football. And it had nothing to do with me. I was actually crushed that he didn’t play football. I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is awful.’ My brothers all played football. My dad played football.

The thing you want your kids to do most of all is succeed in life and be everything they can be. And if there’s anything that may infringe on that, that may limit that, I don’t want my kids doing it.

Every one of them is different. In fact, brains are like faces in that no two are ever alike.

We’ve now found CTE in former NFL players who played every position except kicker.