Late Bengals WR had head injury before death

A lot of people regretted when late Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry died after an accident in his hometown. When we almost forget about this story, there came to be a report saying that Henry already had a head injury and it might affected his mental state and behavior and caused him to fall from a truck.

The tragedy happened after Henry had a quarrel with his fiancée, who started a pickup truck to drive away in anger and did not know that Henry jumped up into the back of the truck. Then Henry lost his balance and fell out, having his head hit on the ground. A Passer-by in Minnesota Vikings jersey found Henry and sent him to hospital immediately but the young man did not open his eyes again.

According to a result of a research done by researchers at West Virginia University, Henry already had chronic traumatic encephalopathy before the accident. Researchers said that that brain disease is not necessarily related to a concussion, which was never diagnosed on Henry during his NFL career, and the disease is always caused by multiple head impacts and is often found in professional football players.

NFLPA complains that NFL concussion expert is biased

Dr. Ira Casson, the co-chairman of the league’s committee on concussions, is facing doubts about whether he has the ability to do his job. And recently, the NFLPA said that he should be removed from his position as he is biased.

Casson has criticized independent and league-sponsored studies linking NFL careers with heightened risk for dementia and cognitive decline, saying more research is needed. And he himself has been conducting a study of retired players used to play in NFL jerseys, he said will provide reliable evidence on brain injuries in the sport. However, several outside experts in epidemiology and dementia research has criticized that Casson’s role in conducting all neurological exams in the study is improper.

Casson failed to appear at last month’s congressional hearing about football head injuries, causing some House members to complain. As NFLPA assistant executive director George Atallah said in a telephone interview, there has been serious concern about Casson’s ability to continue in his role.