“In Roman times, people would come cheer the gladiators… And then when they were done with them, as you know historically, they fed them to the lions” – Harvey Steinberg
Steinberg, the attorney representing former NFL defensive lineman Justin Bannan, argued that American society is failing its NFL gladiators.
Bannan suffers from the effects of chronic head trauma from his 12-year NFL career. In September 2021, Bannan was found guilty of attempted murder and faces a minimum of 10 years in prison for shooting a female acupuncturist. Bannan, part owner of the building where the shooting took place, claimed he was hiding from the Russian Mafia when he shot an unsuspecting woman.
Americans love to watch NFL football on Sunday, but we seldom discuss the effects this gladiator sport has on our favorite athletes and the society we live in. Despite America’s infatuation with the sport, it’s beginning to realize the physical toll associated with its gladiator obsession.
As the prevalence of a “gridiron to jail pipeline” continues to rise, what happens when America’s best athletes spend years banging their heads together? How does the criminal legal system fill the void for treatment and care? And how does systemic racism dictate who’s harmed?
The NFL’s CTE Blinders
The racial make-up of the United States, which sends more people to jail than any other country in the world, informs this country’s attitude toward crime.
By simply criminalizing behavior and blaming the individual, we miss the opportunity to address root causes of crime, to tackle social inequities, and to prevent re-occurrences of violence. With a prison population that is disproportionately comprised of Black and Brown men, we need to know why these otherwise successful NFL players are ending up in jail.
Underscoring all of this is that Black men are disproportionality socialized to be athletes and thus endure disproportionate trauma. Because adequate support is not readily available, a painful transition from successful NFL players to injured, suffering, and sometimes dangerous individuals is a reality for some former players. The NFL itself is complicit, as its race normed tests disproportionality prevented Black players from receiving settlements that averaged $500,000 for suffering adverse health conditions related to concussions.
Most recently, former NFL cornerback Phillip Adams was found to have “unusually severe” chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated blows to the head. Adams shot and killed 6 people before shooting himself in April of 2021. Dr. Anne McKee, a neuropathologist who serves as director of Boston University’s CTE Center, found Adams’ brain comparable to the brain of former Super Bowl Champion Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez, a tight end for the New England Patriots, hanged himself with a bedsheet in prison while serving a life sentence for the murder of Odin Lloyd in 2013. Researchers at the CTE Center found, “Aaron Hernandez suffered the most severe case of (CTE) ever discovered in a person his age, damage that would have significantly affected his decision-making, judgment and cognition”.
At age 24, former NFL receiver Titus Young was convicted of felony battery for street fighting. Young, who had prior arrests on his record, was sentenced to 4 years in prison. In 2015, Young was placed on probation after attacking people at a mental health facility. At the time of his arrest, his dad said that his son was “sort of uncontrollable… He’s just had a problem since his concussion”.
Kellen Winslow II was convicted of five sex crimes against five different female victims, including lewd conduct toward a 77-year-old woman at a local gym. A statement filed by Winslow’s attorney shows that a clinical psychologist found Winslow had symptoms consistent with CTE.
“His behavior and emotional states prior to his arrest bear a striking similarity to other individuals diagnosed with CTE,” said his attorney. “This includes worsening depression, self-medication with substances… a rapid increase/escalation of out-of-character, impulsive, and irrational behavior. Given the presence of repetitive head impact during his many years playing football and the presence of clinical symptoms, it is reasonable to conclude that Mr. Winslow’s presentation can be classified as possible CTE.”
His attorney added, “Winslow now understands that he needs psychological counseling to appropriately address his mental health, and he has admirably been receiving weekly treatment with the staff doctors.”
In March 2021 Winslow was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Is it the Player or CTE?
Some people would argue that majority of football players are “choosing” not to commit crimes and hurt people. While this may be true, (1) the examples mentioned above are just the ones we know about and (2) many players suffer internally and die by suicide (Junior Seau, Aaron Hernandez, Jason Hairston) drug/alcohol addiction (Ryan Leaf, Vincent Jackson, Tom McHale) or loss of function (Fred McNeill, Mike Webster, Ollie Matson).
I am not dismissing the horrendous violence and inflicted pain in my effort to focus on the unrecognized, untreated head trauma that leads to these acts of violence.
However, by framing these NFL players as criminals or bad people, we fail to realize the trauma they have experienced and how that impacts their mental make-up. If the need for increased psychological evaluations, care, and support for these athletes is prioritized, we can reduce the amount of harm to others and themselves.
While I don’t have all the answers to fix such large social problems, it’s important to (1) modify the game of football by making the game safer through equipment, training and science, (2) develop a way to diagnose CTE in living players as it can currently only be diagnosed after a player’s death. (3) create a system for tracking CTE and the behavior associated with it, and lastly, raise awareness with the general public so these issues are taken seriously.
The gridiron to jail pipeline is just another example of how the American criminal legal system absorbs the care and treatment role for our society. The legal system needs to be reimagined to address root causes of social problems like violence, poverty, and addiction.
American society must prioritize humane care options outside of the carceral system, not only for NFL players suffering from CTE, but for the general population as well.
