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NFL: Chris Borland Retirement a Sign of Things to Come

By Maxwell Ogden

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“Player safety? Roger Goodell needs to stop changing the game that we love. He shouldn’t sacrifice a defender’s ability to make a play.”

“Why don’t we just remove contact altogether? This is stupid. It’s football. The players know what they’re signing up for.”

Stop me if you’ve heard this before.

On Monday, March 16, 2015, a player stood up to that misguided machismo by thinking about life after football. In turn, he addressed the elephant in the room.

Chris Borland of the San Francisco 49ers, a self-proclaimed healthy individual, retired from the NFL at 24 years old to protect himself from a future battle with chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Borland had already emerged as one of the best linebackers in the NFL after just one year in the league.

Sadly, the reaction to Borland’s decision to retire has been met with divided support. Fresh off of a rookie season in which he made 107 tackles in 14 games played, many fans have criticized his decision to walk away from the NFL.

While I generally attempt to remain objective, the proper thing to do is voice an opinion: a player’s decision to retire is fair and rational when their health is the topic of discussion.

According to Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru of ESPN’s Outside The Lines, Borland is retiring for that very reason: concerns about his health.

"San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borland, one of the NFL’s top rookies the past season, told “Outside the Lines” on Monday that he is retiring because of concerns about the long-term effects of repetitive head trauma.“I just honestly want to do what’s best for my health,” Borland told “Outside the Lines.” “From what I’ve researched and what I’ve experienced, I don’t think it’s worth the risk.”“I feel largely the same, as sharp as I’ve ever been. For me, it’s wanting to be proactive,” Borland said. “I’m concerned that if you wait till you have symptoms, it’s too late. … There are a lot of unknowns. I can’t claim that X will happen. I just want to live a long healthy life, and I don’t want to have any neurological diseases or die younger than I would otherwise.”"

Borland’s decision continues what’s been a wild week in the NFL.

This is a growing trend; not a strange month.

Jake Locker, 26, has been battling injuries throughout his career, and that dates back to his time with the Washington Huskies. Patrick Willis, 30, missed 10 games in 2014 due to injury.

Jason Worilds, 27 and Borland, 24, however, are both young and promising players who were healthy in 2014.

This is the second time this week that a San Francisco 49ers linebacker has stunned the NFL with an early retirement. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

No matter how safe Goodell and company make the game, injuries will occur. As players retire early, however, the trend is becoming clear: until it becomes as safe as possible, athletes will only be so willing to risk their health and livelihood for a sport.

Who knew players would rather have a safe and cognizant life than risk their brains—quite literally—for non-guaranteed contracts?

Retirement or otherwise, player safety is a major issue.

As more and more ex-players are revealed to be battling chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, more and more current players are becoming mindful of their own health and situation.

Rather than inaccurately calling these players unappreciative of their opportunity, we should embrace the fact that enough medical research exists to properly inform athletes of the dangers they face.

Borland, a player with a fiery passion for the game, is the most recent example of a player placing their health above their unquestionable passion.

Borland cited some of the greatest who came before him as influential figures in his decision.

"“I’ve thought about what I could accomplish in football, but for me, personally, when you read about Mike Webster and Dave Duerson and Ray Easterling, you read all these stories, and to be the type of player I want to be in football, I think I’d have to take on some risks that, as a person, I don’t want to take on.”“I just thought to myself, ‘What am I doing? Is this how I’m going to live my adult life, banging my head, especially with what I’ve learned and knew about the dangers?'”"

For those unfamiliar, Dave Duerson was a four-time Pro Bowler. Ray Easterling played eight seasons in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons.

Both tragically committed suicide. Both were posthumously diagnosed with CTE.

Mike Webster tragically passed away at the age of 50. He was a nine-time All-Pro, a four-time Super Bowl champion and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997.

Webster was also the first ex-NFL player to be diagnosed with CTE.

Per the Outside The Lines report on Borland’s retirement, more than 70 former NFL players have been posthumously diagnosed with some form of a progressive neurological disease. A large population of living players, including legends Tony Dorsett and Jim McMahon, have been publicly diagnosed with CTE or a related disease.

Multiple studies have shown that repeated head trauma can lead to brain disease—as if a study needed to be held to prove such a thing.

Nevertheless, if you have access to Twitter, you’ve likely seen a number of fans offer scathing reviews for Borland’s decision. Some have questioned his heart, while others labeled this decision as disrespectful to the game.

Actual NFL players have disagreed—and rightfully so.

Chris Long of the St. Louis Rams also voiced his support for his division rival.

Hopefully, this is the straw that breaks the camel’s back and pushes Goodell and the NFL to ramp up their efforts in both protecting players from head trauma and supporting those who have endured it.

In 2013, Borland won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and set the FBS all-time record for fumbles forced. In 2014, he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Week in Week 11, Defensive Rookie of the Week in Weeks 10 and 11, and Defensive Rookie of the Month in November.

In 2015, at 24 years old, Borland retired from football to enjoy something that the NFL currently fails to provide: a safe and healthy living.

It won’t be the last time we see this happen.

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