Bomber players resigned to risks

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This article was published 19/09/2012 (5078 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG Blue Bombers players reacted Tuesday with a mixture of sympathy and resignation to the news former nose tackle Doug MacIver had the same degenerative brain disease that’s been found in other deceased football players when he died of a heart attack earlier this year.

“It’s scary. A lot of the new results coming out haven’t been very promising,” Bombers safety Ian Logan said Tuesday.

“I can’t say I’ve noticed any real effects yet. I haven’t suffered any concussions that have been diagnosed. But at the same time, it’s such a violent sport, you have to wonder what the long-term damage is from this.

“It will be interesting to see how long football lasts as a sport if these results keep coming back. But at the same time, this is what I do as a profession. I’ve got to ride it until it’s done, for now.”

The Globe and Mail’s Allan Maki reported in Tuesday’s edition that doctors at Boston University who had dissected MacIver’s brain found he was suffering from “moderately advanced” chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) when he died Jan. 26. Doctors informed the MacIver family of their findings late last week.

MacIver, who was 58 when he died, played nine CFL seasons, three of them in Winnipeg including the Grey Cup-winning season in 1984. CTE is believed to be caused by brain trauma.

Doctors at Boston University have examined the brains of 19 late NFL players and discovered CTE in 18 of them. That’s a sobering statistic, but Bombers offensive lineman Glenn January says it also needs to be put into context.

“There’s a lot of other factors you have to consider when you break down the players from the ’70s and ’80s to the players of this day and age. Lifestyles are different, there’s less head-to-head contact and also back in the day they were taking some things that might not have been good for them, especially in that O-line and D-line position.

“I think you know what I’m talking about. And I’m not saying (MacIver) did that, but it’s just a general statement that they didn’t really know how detrimental certain supplements and performance-enhancing things could be to the body. So yeah, it is something that you have to worry about, but at the same time we’re straw dogs and we have to realize that we have to enjoy our time on top while it’s here.”

— Paul Wiecek