An American Tragedy: Story of Mike Webster, Pro Hall of Famer & CTE
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I was so touched by the story of Mike Webster, a former Pittsburgh Steelers & Kansas City Chiefs football player, who was the first NFL player to be diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. He has since become a symbol for head injuries in the NFL which has sparked an ongoing debate over player safety.
Mike Webster was in the Pro Bowl nine times and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, class of 1997. Because of his toughness he was nicknamed ”Iron Mike” Webster. Mike anchored the Steelers’ offensive line and is considered to be one of the best centers in NFL history.
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In Reader’s Digest (https://www.rd.com/health/conditions/mike-webster-brain-injury) 2003, there was an article called, “Before ‘Concussion’: An Inside Glimpse of NFL Player Mike Webster’s Utterly Tragic Final Days” by Meryl Gordon which I would like to recap this very touching and tragic story about the horrible effects of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. It is an important story to tell because this disease needs to be exposed to everyone who engages in sports & who are parents of children who are in youth sports.
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The following is a summary of the story of Mike Webster written by Meryl Gordon: This story was written in March 2003 and published in the ”Reader’s Digest.” It is a sad story about Webster’s shattered life after his football career was over. He played for the Steelers for 15 seasons and 220 games which is the most played in Steelers’ history. On September 24, 2002, Mike Webster died of a heart attack at age 50 in a Pittsburg Hospital.
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According to this story, Mike grew up on a potato farm in Wisconsin. He was the second of six children and when he was 10, his parents divorced. A year later he and his mother & siblings barely escaped an inferno which burned down his home. Mike lived with his father when he was in high school and it was there that he entered wrestling and then football. He later went to the University of Wisconsin on a football scholarship. Because of his smaller size, he overcompensated for it by becoming the hardest working player who played through his pain.
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The article recalled a time when he showed up at the game on crutches because of a torn cartilage in his knee but played anyway. He later had surgery for the torn cartilage. “But play after play, year after year, Webster slammed into much bigger players, their helmets crashing into him like battering rams, their forearms pounding his head. And the beating left its own legacy.” Despite all these injuries, Webster never officially was treated for a concussion. He was known as never complaining about anything.
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After his last season in football, Webster moved his wife and family back to his wife’s hometown of Lodi, Wisconsin. That is when he changed, according to his wife, Pamela. He evidently seemed disoriented and started to behave strangely. Pamela stated that her husband had always handled the finances but soon discovered that he wasn’t opening the mail, paying bills or filing taxes. Pamela was quoted as saying, “I didn’t realize he had a brain injury. I just thought he was angry at me all the time.”
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When Mike had retired, he had several million dollars in assets but due to poor investments that went bad, they lost their house to foreclosure. Mike’s behavior got increasingly more bizarre and his wife tried to put up with it but in 1992 they separated. Pamela reluctantly divorced Mike after years of living apart. Mike eventually drifted back to Pittsburg and soon his former colleagues began hearing disturbing stories about him. No one knew what was wrong with him. Mike himself was puzzled about why he couldn’t hold onto a job.
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Eventually having no place to go, a fan of his, Sunny Jani took him in. This was hard for Jani because he kept getting called after midnight from Mike asking to be bailed out, or that he was lost. He was examined by a lot of different doctors in the mid-1990s and finally one said he appeared to be brain-damaged.
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By the time Webster entered the Hall of Fame in July 1997, he had become a recluse. He was also suffering from herniated discs and hand injuries and was angry and impoverished. Two of his sons, who occasionally lived with their father, saw him suffer so much. Some nights their father would shake so much from his condition, that he bought a police Taser gun to zap himself to calm his nerves. This would happen 10 to 20 times to relax.
The article went on to say that Webster’s physician prescribed him Ritalin to control his mood swings but in 1999, soon after his doctor moved away, he was arrested for forging Ritalin prescriptions. He gave an emotional news conference apologizing and was given probation. That same year his lawyer finally won Webster a $115,000 yearly disability payment from the NFL. The sad thing is that this payout ended with his death. Now his two youngest children receive $1500 a month each.
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The last year of Mike’s life was sad. His divorce became final, his health worsened and his finances collapsed again. Most of the money from annuities and disability payments went to alimony and child support but the IRS garnished almost all of his income for unpaid taxes. He and his son Garrett were ousted from their apartment for unpaid rent and Jani, his old fan, helped pay for another place. There was no money for furniture so Mike and his son slept on the floor. He couldn’t even afford to pay for medicine so he began to shake so badly that he couldn’t drive his son to school.
On a Friday night Mike went to his son’s football game but by the weekend he felt ghastly and woke up on a Sunday with purple lips and a ghostly white color. He refused to go to the hospital because he didn’t have insurance but later that night he let Jani drive him to the hospital where he was diagnosed as having had a heart attack. Mike went into a coma and passed away on Tuesday.
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So this is a recap of the "Reader’s Digest" article. It went on to tell of other things but I wanted to present the gist of how a football hero, a Hall of Famer went from the top of the world only to be fallen by CTE. It is a very sad tale of what head trauma can do to a strong professional athlete. There are other stories like Junior Seau, who played for the San Diego Chargers and who committed suicide because of CTE. Many other lives have also ended in tragedy.
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My mission for writing in Steemiteducation is to provide learning posts to help provide various educational information to anyone who will read them. This was a very special one I presented, because we all need to learn from these tragedies, about life and the values we take from it. This tragedy serves to remind us that we all need to take care of our health and help to foster more research to find ways to address these debilitating conditions.
This is a very sad story I hope we can learn a little something from about life. I hope you will continue this journey with me. Thank-you for reading my article on An American Tragedy: The Story of Mike Webster, Pro Hall of Famer If you would like to follow me, please check HERE
These are my previous articles. if you are interested in reading it:
Neuroplasticity: Hope For People With Anxiety?
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-hope-for-people-with-anxiety
Neuroplasticity: How to deal with Anxiety Disorders Like Panic Attacks
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-how-to-deal-with-anxiety-disorders-like-panic-attacks
Neuroplasticity: Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-cognitive-behavior-therapy-cbt
Neuroplasticity: Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-mindfulness-based-cognitive-therapy
Neuroplasticity: Self-Directed Neuroplasticity Exercises
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-self-directed-neuroplasticity-exercises
Neuroplasticity: Music & Music Therapy
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-music-and-music-therapy
Neuroplasticity: Meditation and Anxiety
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-meditation-and-anxiety
Neuroplasticity: Brainwave Entrainment
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-brainwave-entrainment
Anxiety and CBD: An Introduction to Cannabinoid
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/anxiety-and-cbd-an-introduction-to-cannabinoid
Childhood Injuries: Concussions
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/childhood-injuries-concussions
Childhood Injuries: Post Concussion Syndrome & Recovery & Safety Measures To Prevent Concussions
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/childhood-injuries-post-concussion-syndrome-and-recovery-and-safety-measures-to-prevent-concussions
Youth Sports: The Benefits of Youth Sports & Increase Incidents of Concussions
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/youth-sports-the-benefits-of-youth-sports-and-increase-incidents-of-concussions
Are You Ready For Some Football? - The Continuing Saga of Concussion & Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Former NFL Players & Other Concussion Victims
Wow cabbagepatch, you did some real research here :) I love when I see such commitment in a post!!! Wonderful Friend :) SUNSHINE247
Thank-you @ sunshine 247 for your wonderful comments and support. I really wanted to do this because people have to understand how dangerous it is for the children under 14 years to play contact sports. There have been cases of 17 years old athletes with CTE and that is really sad. I feel the more I write about these areas, the more people will learn . I feel for anyone who has challenges that they don't need.
I hope you are well and doing fine. Again, thank-you for commenting and supporting! :D
A truly tragic story! Iron Mike was instrumental in making the Steelers the powerhouse they were in their heyday of the 70's! I remember him well from those days. I remember seeing a movie about his life (I think on Netflix)... What a tragic story and could (should) have been prevented!
Thank-you for your comments @richq11. I agree that this is a tragic story. When I was doing my research on CTE I came across Mike's sad story and the struggles he encountered. What was even more sad it that he lost everything and the pain he went through. That is why I had to write about it.
CTE is a terrible way to suffer and the young children who are doing contact sports can also develop this because they are starting so young. Parents need to wake up. Hopefully more research can be conducted to find ways to help these veterans. Again thank-you!!!
I'm old and remember the Steelers of those days well. Without Mike protecting him, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, et.al. would have been mediocre at best. The movie was heartbreaking to watch- such a fine man. I am happy to say that the helmets they use now offer a lot more protection.
Thank-you so much for your wonderful comments. It is greatly appreciated. Mike's story was so important for people to hear about because it is so sad when they played so hard for the team and fans without realizing what they are doing to their bodies and brains. Hopefully medical science will find a way to also reverse this Tau protein. In a way it is like Alzheimer's.
I hope you have a wonderful day and again, thank-you for your comments and support. It is deeply appreciated!
His story is so sad, but it angers me that kids are still playing contact football and setting themselves up for a long term problem.
I know more attention is being paid to injuries and protective gear is much better, but still football is dangerous as well as other "contact" sports.
Concussions of any kind can lead to long term problems. Thanks for posting this information, particularly the pathology surrounding it.
I hope his story and your article will make people consider all aspects of these sports.
I totally agree with you @madila that young children should not be doing contact sports under 14 years old. They say CTE can be worse for them because it just starts with one hit. Parents need to know this and everyone needs to pressure the research areas to find ways to treat CTE. It is truly a horrible condition and very difficult on the victim.
Thank-you for your support and comments. It is deeply appreciated that you read my article. Thank-you!!!
I had a friend who got injured in high school and found out years later that it was undiagnosed and he spiraled out of control in his 30's after a car accident.
Thanks so much for highlighting this tragedy in athlete's lives.
@madila, I really appreciate your sharing of this unfortunate situation with your friend. People always wonder why so many people are going crazy, when all they have to do is look at the history. We all need to be more aware of what is happening around us. That is why I am using Steemit to educate as much as I am able to.
After reading about Mike Webster's story I have since been driven to bring to light what we are doing to our children and to ourselves. I appreciate your comments and do wish you well in each and every coming day. Thank-you so much!!! :D
Even if it is a sad story,It will be rewarded if it is beneficial to others.
We have to learn from that.Thank you @cabbagepatch:)
Yoshiko, this is a terrible disease to get because the brain literally dies and the victim suffers greatly from it. That is why I wrote this post because young children under 14 should not be doing contact sports. There have been 17 year old athletes who have this disease already because they started sports when very young. Thank-you Yoshiko for your comment and support. It is deeply appreciated!
What a sad story and so well written thank you my friend for all your wonderful posts.
Thank-you @bigbear for your comments and support. It is a very sad story but I want people to know about this terrible disease. Parents should not let their young children do contact sports because that has a great possibility of CTE starting in the brain. It is a terrible disease for anyone to have. I just want to educate everyone about this. Thank-you for your never ending support!!! :D
I never played football after seventh grade, and this article makes me more grateful for that decision. Thanks for such a candid, compelling story.
Thank-you so much for your great comments. I am very glad you made the right decision not to play after seventh grade. If parents can understand the dangers of contact sports, maybe less children will suffer later on. They need to see how the research is coming along about resolving the protein build up in the brain other wise it is not good for the children to risk their health.
My mission is to educate people so they can make better decisions. I do appreciate you reading my article. Thank-you very much!!!
You are most gracious. I am eager to read more of your content-rich articles.
Thank-you @bizcommunication. Your comments really have made my day! :D !
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it's very sad story... so many sportsmen died of the heart attacks... i wonder if all this cases are connected with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or there might be other reasons
Thank-you @reinikaerrant for your comments and support. Yes, I do believe that most of these athletes have CTE and CTE contributes to everything else. It is a really terrible disease.