During a 15-year NFL career that sent him pinballing over the middle of the field too many times to count, absorbing hits as wicked as they come, former Denver Broncos receiver Brandon Stokley endured injuries that literally ran from head to toe.<\/p>\n
And while, by his own estimate, that included at least a dozen concussions, the only health issue that made him seriously contemplate quitting the game was a problem with a small bone in the middle of his foot in his fourth season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told my wife, \u2018This is it. I\u2019m done. I can\u2019t deal with this pain every day,\u2019\u201d Stokley said in an interview with The Associated Press.<\/p>\n
Yet he pressed on. Eventually the foot pain subsided. The concussions? Those kept accumulating. Stokley, essentially, shrugged them off, despite the seemingly unending drumbeat of news about the dangers of head injuries. During his playing days, he was more worried about short-term effects than later-in-life ones.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing with concussions is, usually, you\u2019re out a week or two, and then you\u2019re back fine,\u201d said Stokley, 39, who caught passes from one of this week\u2019s Super Bowl quarterbacks, Peyton Manning, while both were with the Broncos and, before that, the Indianapolis Colts. \u201cBut you mess your knee up, you\u2019re out a year. You mess your shoulder up, you\u2019re done for a year.\u201d<\/p>\n
That nonchalant attitude toward concussions that Stokley held while he was active in the league is not all that different from what was expressed by many current NFL players in an AP survey conducted this season and released Sunday. Less than half of the group \u2014 only 39 of the 100 players \u2014 said they are more worried about the long-term effects of concussions than those of other injuries.<\/p>\n
Of the remaining 61 players, 20 either said they are not concerned at all about concussions or less concerned about them than other injuries, while 41 said the concern is equal for all injuries.<\/p>\n
\u201cPersonally, I don\u2019t think about head injuries. They don\u2019t affect me,\u201d said Nikita Whitlock, a New York Giants special teamer. \u201cI wonder: What are my joints going to be like in 20 years? How will my knees hold up in 20 years? What about my shoulders and wrists? These are the real weak points of your body.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sort of sentiment was heard repeatedly by AP reporters, as if players were ignoring everything related to head trauma and football.<\/p>\n
Just last week, a member of the Giants\u2019 2012 Super Bowl championship team who died at age 27, safety Tyler Sash, was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The disease is linked to repeated brain trauma and associated with symptoms such as memory loss, depression and progressive dementia.<\/p>\n
Sash was just the latest CTE headline: The suicide of Pro Football Hall of Famer Junior Seau. The sudden retirement of San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borland. The concussion-related lawsuits brought by former players. Various safeguards added by the NFL, including attempts to increase in-game monitoring of head injuries and more vigilant policing of illegal hits.<\/p>\n
During regular-season games, the NFL said Friday, there were 182 reported concussions, a 58 percent increase from a year ago.<\/p>\n
And yet …<\/p>\n
\u201cNot worried,\u201d Oakland Raiders running back Jamize Olawale said. \u201cI think it\u2019s blown out of proportion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can get a head injury from anywhere,\u201d Houston Texans cornerback Charles James said. \u201cA dude could sucker-punch me, and I could get the same injury I get from hitting a running back head-on.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is, to be sure, a segment of the NFL population that takes concussions and their consequences seriously.<\/p>\n
A few players interviewed by the AP mentioned the ability to repair knees or hips, \u201cbut you can\u2019t get a brain replacement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not trying to lose my memory. I need to know what\u2019s going on in my life,\u201d Detroit Lions cornerback Darius Slay said. \u201cIf you get hit in the head and have a concussion, you might forget who your son is, your momma is. I ain\u2019t got time for that. … You can take the legs.\u201d<\/p>\n
As eight-year defensive end Chris Long of the Rams put it: \u201cI try not to think about it, but the evidence seems to be mounting that we\u2019re in trouble. Eight years in, the damage is done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now out of the NFL for two years, Stokley was asked if he has any concussion symptoms.<\/p>\n
His reply: \u201cI\u2019m not really wanting to discuss my standing right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the conversation continued, he noted that he thinks the NFL is improving how it handles head injuries. And that, in turn, is changing how concussions are discussed in the locker room.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf a guy\u2019s out for a couple weeks with a concussion, you\u2019re not getting the same kind of stares you did 10 or 12 years ago,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a serious injury, and they need to treat it like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
The following AP Sports Writers contributed to this report: Genaro Armas, Bob Baum, Tim Booth, Dave Campbell, Tom Canavan, Jay Cohen, Schuyler Dixon, Josh Dubow, R.B. Fallstrom, David Ginsburg, Jimmy Golen, Fred Goodall, Will Graves, Joe Kay, Larry Lage, Mark Long, Rob Maaddi, Michael Marot, Brett Martel, Janie McCauley, Paul Newberry, Steve Reed, Kristie Rieken, Dave Skretta, Teresa M. Walker, Dennis Waszak Jr., John Wawrow, Bernie Wilson, Steven Wine and Tom Withers.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Follow Eddie Pells on Twitter at http:\/\/twitter.com\/epells and find his work at http:\/\/bigstory.ap.org\/content\/eddie-pells<\/p>\n
Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http:\/\/twitter.com\/HowardFendrich and find his work at http:\/\/bigstory.ap.org\/content\/howard-fendrich<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Online:<\/p>\n
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http:\/\/twitter.com\/AP_NFL<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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