ABSTRACT

The emergence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and brain damage in pro sports has had lasting effects on former athletes and will affect future athletes. Previous research on CTE has recently caused high-impact professions such as football to make significant changes to their rules, allowing the game to be still played at a high level while keeping player safety at the forefront. It is important to know what the lives of retired athletes who have contracted CTE are like for them and their families. It is also important to consider how CTE may impact future athletes and how they should approach high-impact professions. Research shows many of these individuals suffered from somatic, cognitive, behavioral, affective, psychological, and social symptoms before their death and, especially, upon their retirement from sports. The range of these symptoms includes, though is not limited to, memory loss, deteriorating motor skills, anhedonia, depression, mania, bipolar, suicidal ideation, irritability, loss of executive function, and rage. The importance of studying CTE has risen in light of the many documented cases surrounding retired athletes who have suffered many of the symptoms of someone suffering from CTE