New Orleans Saints: Team not shying away from CTE study

By Rebecca Mills | Jul 30, 2017

(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

With the NFL largely ignoring CTE and its existence for years, the New Orleans Saints talking about the disease is a refreshing change.

On July 25, the Journal of American Medical Associaton released results from studies NFL players, coaches and staff have found troubling. According to the data, 110 of the 111 brains studied had some form of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. The league and most teams have ignored it, but the New Orleans Saints aren’t following suit.

During training camp, players and coaches were questioned about the study. One of the most outspoken players was defensive end Darryl Tapp. Tapp has been in the league since 2006, making him a rare commodity. The second-year player had this to say, via NOLA.com:

"“Things like that happen on a football field — this is a violent sport — but it does make you think about life after football a little bit, how your mental health and that aspect is doing…It’s definitely an interesting study. I will dive more into it when we get a few off days and once we break camp.”"

Despite that, Tapp isn’t going to let it stop him from playing the game he loves.

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The other player to comment on it was right tackle Zach Strief. Strief shared a different opinion than Tapp. He didn’t really say he believed in it, but also didn’t dismiss the study. He spoke candidly about how he believed the study was rigged in a way, also via NOLA.com:

"“That’s not a super clean study. It’s easy when someone is later in their life or experiences problems. I think that number is probably skewed; I don’t believe it’s 100 percent. That being said, to ignore what the realities are is probably a lot higher than a lot of us would be comfortable with. That’s the reality of it.” I’m not sure what point he was trying to prove but to each his own."

Strief’s comments remind me of the movie, Concussion. While the movie wasn’t completely accurate, it did a good job of portraying the NFL. The league failed to make the connection and still does to a point. While it might not affect every single player in the league, it’s still a problem. The truth is, the number could be higher or it could be lower. But with some players retiring or deciding to take a different career path, it’s hard to ignore.

It’s one thing to ask players, but another to talk to the coaches. A majority of current coaches are former players themselves, so it’s hard to ignore the study. Not to sound morbid, but it could be these coaches feeling the effects of CTE years down the road. Saints head coach Sean Payton spoke about how he believes all levels of football should be aware of the risks and try to lower them.

Concussion wasn’t the best movie of 2015, but it delivered an important message. It brought CTE to the masses and made the league become more accountable. In another statement, Strief spoke about how the league taking responsibility, once more via NOLA.com:

"“I think what is important is we learn as much as we can, understand what are the real chances and let guys make that decision for themselves.”"

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Strief’s right and the NFL should be ashamed. They need to educate players on the pros and cons of joining the league. I applaud the team for discussing the issue and not brushing it aside. It’s a tough subject and one teams tend to stay away from. CTE isn’t going away anytime soon and the Saints are smart to address it.

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