NFL Looking into Tom Brady Concussion Claims

The NFL is looking into whether Tom Brady suffered a concussion during last season as claimed by supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen. According to USA Today, Bundchen told the CBS This Morning program that her husband had suffered a concussion last season. The Patriots never listed Brady on the injury report with a head injury or a concussion last season.

Bundchen’s Remarks Raise Concerns

The NFL issued a statement saying they have looked at all reports involving Brady and there are no records that indicate Brady suffered a head injury or a concussion. NFL officials are looking to gather more information from the club’s medical staff and Brady himself, they said. The NFL and the NFL Players Association have a process under the collective bargaining agreement to investigate possible deviations from concussion protocol.

Bundchen raised the issue during an interview with CBS This Morning when questioned about Brady’s retirement. She pointed to the aggressive nature of the sport and then mentioned that Brady had suffered a concussion last year. “He has concussions pretty much every…I mean we don’t talk about it,” she said. “But he has concussions and I don’t really think it’s a healthy thing for your body to go through.”

Concussions and CTE

Concussions in football players cause a condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which was formerly believed to exist primarily among boxers. This is a progressive degenerative disease, which afflicts the brain of people who have suffered repeated concussions and traumatic brain injuries. Football players who suffer repeated concussions are at risk for CTE. The brain of an individual who suffers from chronic traumatic encephalopathy gradually deteriorates and will over time end up losing mass.

The symptoms of CTE can be debilitating and often have life changing effects for the individual and his or her family. Common symptoms include loss of memory, difficulty controlling impulsive or erratic behavior, impaired judgment, aggression, depression and a gradual onset of dementia. CTE can be diagnosed only after a person’s death, which makes treatment all the more challenging. It received significant attention after NFL player Junior Seau’s suicide death and the death of pro wrestler Chris Benoit, who killed himself after murdering his wife and son.

As traumatic brain injury lawyers, we are concerned about the prevalence of concussion-related injuries in sports including football. But we are even more concerned about the fact that players who dedicate their lives to the sport don’t get the care they need and deserve.