Junior Seau suicide

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sj-roc
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Team 1040 is reporting that former NFL linebacker Junior Seau has commited suicide, the eighth member of the 1994(5?) San Diego Chargers AFC championship team to die.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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Lions4ever
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Seems to be coming out that the gunshot wound was to the chest. Specualtion is that Seau may have done it that was to leave brain intact for later study. Early hours - and I emphasize: speculation.
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WestCoastJoe
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Tragic to hear this. A great player. Did he have a number of concussions? I expect most linebackers have had their share.
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squishy35
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Sad... He was a beast of a player. I feel for his family.
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Lions4ever
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Very sad - and haunting. Here is an extract from the Wikipedia entry on former NFL player Dave Duerson :

Duerson was found dead at his Sunny Isles Beach, Florida home on February 17, 2011. The Miami-Dade County medical examiner reported that Duerson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. He sent a text message to his family saying he wanted his brain to be used for research at the Boston University School of Medicine, which is conducting research into chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) caused by playing pro football.
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notahomer
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Sad to hear of course. Seau was one of my favourite defensive players to watch. Great leader on and off the field, IMO.

Suicide does impact most segments of society (rich/poor, employed/unemployed, etc....). I was on the organizing committee of a suicide prevention conference that was held here in Vancouver October 2011 (CASP- Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention). I do hope losses like this will lead to increased awareness of this issue.

I also am glad of the tack the NFL and CFL are taking in making their games safer for the players. The long term (meaning post career) impacts of this sport obviously needs more research.
TheLionKing
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Couple of years back Seau drove his car over a cliff. There was speculation that it was a suicide attempt but he told police that he just felled asleep at the wheel.
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