Folks in Junior's life and the media have suspected him to be suicidal for a while. He drove his car off a cliff or something not that long ago and survived. I forget the exact details, but I remmebr him claiming he "fell asleep". Sounded fishy. Very sad news. A big figure in So Cal sports circles.

My cousing committed suicide in 2010. It's a horrible thing.

Jason

Big surprise, and a real damn shame. Everything I've read and heard about Junior said that he was a great guy, a real prince.

Drove it off a cliff in Carlsbad a couple of years back... That was right after his girlfriend called the police on him claining that he beat her (the charges were later dropped.). But I remember hearing similar rumors about Seau for a few years now. I was just talking about t his with a couple of my Vet buddies here on campus- one of them wondered aloud if it had anything to do with TBI (traumatic brain injuries) from being in the NFL as a linebacker for so long.

I'm sure there will be an autopsy and I bet they will examine that brain closely. Assuming, he didn't scramble it too much with the shot. Not everyone when they shoot themselves does it in the head.

I bet he did have some TBI going on there. That plus not playing anymore, some players have trouble to the adjustment and sink into depression.

Jason

Press is reporting that the gunshot wound was to the chest, as a matter of fact... Somebody else I know made a remark about another football player committing suicide this way as well not too long ago, and the story says that it was because he wanted his brain intact so it could be studied.

Dave Duerson

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/23/dave-duerson-suicide-exbe_n_1297207.html

I'm wondering if he was suffering the effects of long term bodily abuse through football. I don't remember him having any concussions, but when he played they weren't looked at the way they are today - and that was just a few years ago. Being that he shot himself in the chest like the Chicago Bears player (and a few others) a few months ago I wonder.

My nephew took a blow to the head in gym class this past January. He's 13 and hasn't been back to school since. I could go into the long list of symptoms and how he's doing, but I'll just leave it that I've learned a lot about how it affects the body and people's mental well being. He's not well and probably won't be for quite some time. Should he miraculously get better he's still stay back (or at least tutor through the summer just to attempt to catch up). In the atate he's in I don't see it happening any time soon.

I'm glad steps are being made to better protect players. It's not as easy as sucking it up.


He was a great line backer. Every time I saw him in an interview I couldn't help but love the man's attitude and personality. This is tragic for his loved ones and friends. RiP, Junior.

Oh man, I'm gobsmacked. He was a great football player. No clue about his person life. Guess that was hard.

He played tough for the Dolphins!

RIP Junior

For the people who think suicide is the coward's way out, please note a couple of things:

Depressed people think differently than non-depressed people. A "normal" person who becomes depressed for whatever reason (stress, injury, drugs, etc) does not think the same way pre-depression. DPs have the same thoughts as non-DPs - the difference is DPs constantly loop on the negative thoughts whereas non-DPs only dwell on negative thoughts for a very short period (not long enough to even call it dwelling).

Another difference is that DPs have trouble seeing a way out of the current situation (probably because of the above). It is very difficult (if not impossible) to convince a severely depressed or suicidal person that there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

Oh, the other issue is with those around the suicidal person. If you are around someone who feels that way and s/he doesn't want you to know about it, it can be very difficult to see the signs until it's too late (unless you actively go looking for them).

Note: I am not a mental health professional - these are just some things I've learned or observed over the years.

There's another train of thought that was brought up when Favre kept going back forth with retirement and that is: once a player retires from football their entire way of life changes, the structure that they've have from age of 10+ is completely gone, training, goals, pressure to be the best, fame, teammate comaraderie, etc, essentially not knowing what to do with themselves or any goals. For some players, certainly not all it is obvious that while going through school their physical ability was focused on while their mental aspect was neglected (Look at some players Wonderlic scores). Their inability to cope with this change can lead to depression.

Also, like knightgames showed with his nephew, just one hit can cause quite a bit of damage. I got a concussion from football around that same age. For months afterward I would forget mid conversation, even mid sentence what was happening. Turned out that I was having milli-second seizures that "reset" my brain... There wasn't really any cure so I had to wait it out, now about 13 years later I don't really have the problem anymore, although I still don't have the greatest memory.

Now imagine these NFL players whose "career" lasts 10-15 years, not including another 4 in high school and another 2+ in college. Those hits can certainly add up.