Loved his game, hope his body can handle it. Kid can play.

I loved Joyner’s game, and he could have been a bell cow. But after that many concussions, attempting a return to football is an extremely bad idea.
I loved Joyner’s game, and he could have been a bell cow. But after that many concussions, attempting a return to football is an extremely bad idea.
You only live once. I don’t agree. Many former players have had concussions and are fine. Some aren’t. It’s a risk, but that’s football.
Listened to Mitch's podcast and her had a guy on who played for Harvard in college and did a couple years in the NFL. He now leads the brain research out of Boston that's diagnosing CTE in players after they die. His comments were that the concussions are not really what causes the long-term issues as much as the repeat hits. He also cited that nearly 75% of concussions in high school or college occur during practice, whereas in the pros[/b] that number is reversed, and that practices need to get reworked big-time.
Interesting point was that no kids should play football before high school because, statistically speaking, playing before high school does nothing to improve the odds of making it to college and the pros. All it does is greatly increase the likelihood of brain issues later in life.
I loved Joyner’s game, and he could have been a bell cow. But after that many concussions, attempting a return to football is an extremely bad idea.
So was he forced to quit football, then? My understanding is that he retired due to multiple concussions. That it was his choice or an understanding between he and the medical staff. Did the team or the medical staff make[/i] him retire?
Also, I think some are downplaying how dangerous concussions like that can be. I'm no doctor, but my understanding is that they are multiplicative, and not letting the last concussion completely heal and then getting another is extremely bad news. I played with two different players growing up who retired from football due to concussions. One never even made it past high school because the doctors told him his brain would become pudding if he got one more concussion. The other didn't have concussion issues through youth and high school ball, had his UW offer pulled when Slick Rick took over, and ended up at Idaho. He made it, I believe, three years before he also had to hang it up due to concussions.
In both cases, it wasn't a matter of, "Oh, he might have a hard time remembering where he put his car keys when he's 78 years old." No, it was a neurologist sitting him down, pointing to the scan, and saying, "See how your brain here is starting to look those blobs at the end of Metroid having a coke-fueled orgy? Another big hit like that could be your last."
Joyner's not the first player I've seen retire due to concussions and then find his way back onto the field somewhere else, so I'm curious how that decision works. What was he told by UW medical staff (no slouches), and what's behind his thinking that he should just play anyway?
The argument for players having the right to turn their brain into pudding if they so chose is very similar to debates over seat belt laws, helmet laws, product safety regulations, etc. It's an interesting one. My guess as to why he's turning up on a field in Canada instead of trying out for the NFL is that no team in the States would be dumb enough to expose themselves to the legal/negative PR risk of a player with a history of bad concussions.
So was he forced to quit football, then? My understanding is that he retired due to multiple concussions. That it was his choice or an understanding between he and the medical staff. Did the team or the medical staff make[/i] him retire?
Also, I think some are downplaying how dangerous concussions like that can be. I'm no doctor, but my understanding is that they are multiplicative, and not letting the last concussion completely heal and then getting another is extremely bad news. I played with two different players growing up who retired from football due to concussions. One never even made it past high school because the doctors told him his brain would become pudding if he got one more concussion. The other didn't have concussion issues through youth and high school ball, had his UW offer pulled when Slick Rick took over, and ended up at Idaho. He made it, I believe, three years before he also had to hang it up due to concussions.
In both cases, it wasn't a matter of, "Oh, he might have a hard time remembering where he put his car keys when he's 78 years old." No, it was a neurologist sitting him down, pointing to the scan, and saying, "See how your brain here is starting to look those blobs at the end of Metroid having a coke-fueled orgy? Another big hit like that could be your last."
Joyner's not the first player I've seen retire due to concussions and then find his way back onto the field somewhere else, so I'm curious how that decision works. What was he told by UW medical staff (no slouches), and what's behind his thinking that he should just play anyway?
The argument for players having the right to turn their brain into pudding if they so chose is very similar to debates over seat belt laws, helmet laws, product safety regulations, etc. It's an interesting one. My guess as to why he's turning up on a field in Canada instead of trying out for the NFL is that no team in the States would be dumb enough to expose themselves to the legal/negative PR risk of a player with a history of bad concussions.
I’m not sure how much liability plays into NFL teams thinking. Most guys that don’t play for a few years aren’t capable of playing in the NFL. Joyner was a good college player but didn’t have that much experience actually playing and he was never a sure fire, can’t miss NFL guy to being with.