Wow, NFL great Junior Seau dead?

volleygirl · 05-02-2012, 10:42 AM

Reports are he has committed suicide. Sorry to hear this as he was a class act as a player and will definitely make the Hall of Fame. Best wishes to his family.

LeeD · 05-02-2012, 10:49 AM

Bummer for sure.
I guess, when you're at the top, you can only go downwards.

JohnnyCracker · 05-02-2012, 11:09 AM

I remember he was the guy who held back Ryan Leaf trying to calm him down when Leaf had that blowup with a reporter. Fast forward...Seau is the one committing suicide.
Life...you just never know.

LeeD · 05-02-2012, 11:22 AM

Hey guys....
You ever get old?
You know, that age thing. In NFL, "getting old" means losing the step and a half, seeing and knowing, but can't do much about it.
EVERY player get's old. You USED to be able, now you're not.
It's depressing. What's to look forwards to?
Some look forwards to old age. Other's dread old age.

jamesblakefan#1 · 05-02-2012, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeeD

Hey guys....
You ever get old?
You know, that age thing. In NFL, "getting old" means losing the step and a half, seeing and knowing, but can't do much about it.
EVERY player get's old. You USED to be able, now you're not.
It's depressing. What's to look forwards to?
Some look forwards to old age. Other's dread old age.

Has more to do with the head injuries these guys sustain than the whole 'missing the game' thing, though I'm sure that doesn't help. Dave Duerson was another one who killed himself last year, and they found severe brain damage afterwards. Reports are that Seau shot himself in the chest, so that his brain could be studied afterwards.

The guy also went through a divorce.

LeeD · 05-02-2012, 11:43 AM

I doubt they miss the game.
What they miss is the adrenaline high.
Can't reproduce that unless you compete.

tricky · 05-02-2012, 12:01 PM

Depression is kind of the hidden epidemic among both football players and boxers. This is due to the accumulation of brain trauma throughout their career, as jamesblakefan pointed out.

ollinger · 05-02-2012, 12:05 PM

The research on athlete suicide suggests it's not the loss of athletic ability, aderenaline high, or loss of attention/glory that impacts them. The risk factors that increase suicide generally among men -- divorce, alcohol abuse, lack of employment, chronic pain -- are all very prevalent among retired NFL players, who have a suicide rate six times that of the general population.

r2473 · 05-02-2012, 12:16 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yf-uOI3FRE

jaggy · 05-02-2012, 12:35 PM

Sad on so many levels

LeeD · 05-02-2012, 01:31 PM

Ollinger, please read what you wrote.
WHY do so many NFL players choose suicide for their release?
You list 3 big reasons, but chose to ignore it.
Research knows nothing, you know that. It can be manipulated, facts hidden, and conclusions diverted by whoever, for whomever.

ollinger · 05-02-2012, 01:50 PM

Lots of things CAN be manipulated, but it doesn't mean they are. Most research, especially research not involving pharmaceuticals, is reliable. It's been well known for an eternity that the factors that predict suicide include male gender (females make ineffectualy attempts, men use more lethal methods), increasing age, single or divorced, alcohol or drug abuse, lack of employment, and chronic pain. Data show at least two-thirds of former NFL players experience chronic pain of significant degree. The demographics alone here would account for a very high suicide rate. Also, aggressive men tend to use more lethal means, such as guns and ropes, and we know the NFL selects for aggressiveness.

sureshs · 05-02-2012, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeeD

Ollinger, please read what you wrote.
WHY do so many NFL players choose suicide for their release?
You list 3 big reasons, but chose to ignore it.
Research knows nothing, you know that. It can be manipulated, facts hidden, and conclusions diverted by whoever, for whomever.

Then you have to explain why/how it was manipulated.

sureshs · 05-02-2012, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeeD

I doubt they miss the game.
What they miss is the adrenaline high.
Can't reproduce that unless you compete.

Don't tennis player's compete? Why don't many of them commit suicide?

angharad · 05-02-2012, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ollinger

The research on athlete suicide suggests it's not the loss of athletic ability, aderenaline high, or loss of attention/glory that impacts them. The risk factors that increase suicide generally among men -- divorce, alcohol abuse, lack of employment, chronic pain -- are all very prevalent among retired NFL players, who have a suicide rate six times that of the general population.

I have to wonder if there's a certain personality type that does well in professional sports that also increases risk of depression. One of the things Marcellus Wiley (ex-teammate and friend of Seau) said earlier today is that Seau never wanted people to see him at anything less than his best. He preferred to be treated by private physicians, not team doctors, so his injuries weren't common knowledge, that sort of thing. That preference for privacy and tendency to 'put on a brave face' would seem to lend itself to being depressed without seeking help, or considering suicide without talking to anyone about it.

Seau always seemed like a decent guy, and I'm sorry this is what he saw as the only way out.

Moose Malloy · 05-02-2012, 02:58 PM

is this true?

Quote:

Seau is the eighth member of the Chargers' 1994 Super Bowl team to pass.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-sh...182120394.html

CCNM · 05-02-2012, 03:05 PM

It's always sad when someone commits suicide. I hope he is at peace. RIP Junior!

LeeD · 05-02-2012, 06:20 PM

I think poster 15 has something there.
I also like Ollinger's thread about symptoms that might lead to suicide.
I'd pretty well fit in there. Chronic pain, no gainful employment, downward spiral, the ways and means (shot IPSC and PracticalPistol for years), was a pyromaniac in my younger years, and generally getting old, but not looking forward to it.

WildVolley · 05-02-2012, 07:21 PM

This is sad but not surprising.

Junior Seau tried to commit suicide less than 2 years ago by driving his SUV off about a 30' cliff onto the beach. Luckily no one was on the beach where he landed. A girlfriend had charged him with domestic violence.

He was still a legend in the San Diego area. RIP

tricky · 05-02-2012, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moose Malloy

is this true?
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-sh...182120394.html

Yes.

http://deadspin.com/5867720/death-is...-1994-chargers

05-02-2012, 11:09 AM	#3
JohnnyCracker Semi-Pro Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 700	I remember he was the guy who held back Ryan Leaf trying to calm him down when Leaf had that blowup with a reporter. Fast forward...Seau is the one committing suicide. Life...you just never know. __________________ "When all else fails, you always have delusion." - Conan

05-02-2012, 12:01 PM	#7
tricky Hall Of Fame Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 3,311	Depression is kind of the hidden epidemic among both football players and boxers. This is due to the accumulation of brain trauma throughout their career, as jamesblakefan pointed out. __________________ Directory of Tennis Warehouse Clubs (courtesy of Mountain Ghost) http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=179307

05-02-2012, 12:05 PM	#8
ollinger Hall Of Fame Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 4,420	The research on athlete suicide suggests it's not the loss of athletic ability, aderenaline high, or loss of attention/glory that impacts them. The risk factors that increase suicide generally among men -- divorce, alcohol abuse, lack of employment, chronic pain -- are all very prevalent among retired NFL players, who have a suicide rate six times that of the general population. Last edited by ollinger : 05-02-2012 at 12:13 PM.

05-02-2012, 12:16 PM	#9
r2473 Legend Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 5,349	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yf-uOI3FRE __________________ “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”

05-02-2012, 03:05 PM	#17
CCNM Hall Of Fame Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Albuquerque, NM USA Posts: 2,781	It's always sad when someone commits suicide. I hope he is at peace. RIP Junior! __________________ Favorites: S Kuznetsova, M Baghdadis. J Jankovic, Henin, Gonzo, Federer, Nadal, A Sanchez-Vicario, Boris Becker, G Sabatini, A Mauresmo