A deadly Manhattan office shooting by former high school football player Shane Tamura has renewed attention on how possible CTE injuries are managed in amateur football. Tamura, 27, fatally shot four people before killing himself, leaving a note blaming chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, and the NFL for his actions. National Football League headquarters are in the Park Avenue building where the shooting occurred. Tamura, who played at a Los Angeles charter school, had not been diagnosed with CTE, which can only be confirmed post-mortem.
Concussions are a worrying trend in contact sports across the board
But persistent questions about the effectiveness of strategies for tracking and managing repeated head trauma in young athletes are again facing scrutiny. Karissa Niehoff, CEO of the National Federation of State High School Associations that oversees high school football in the U.S., said her organization “does not know how many serious concussions are reported each year.”
“Concussions occur among all age groups and in many activities, but are often not reported. Those at the scholastic level might involve reporting to a school nurse, athletic trainer, or coach,” – Karissa Niehoff, CEO of the National Federation of State High School Associations
Concussions are sometimes called “snowflake injuries” to reflect their unique and unpredictable nature. Monitoring student-athletes is difficult for organizations like the NFHS, since state associations have no oversight once students graduate. A 2023 Boston University CTE Center study that examined the brains of 152 youth, high school, and college athletes, most of them football players, who had died under age 30, found 41% showed signs of CTE.
CTE can develop very early on in specific sports and disciplines
Suicide was the most common cause of death, but not all athletes with symptoms had CTE, the study found. There was no statistically significant difference in clinical symptoms between those with the brain disorder and those without. Which makes the issue even more troubling as there can be no way of detecting it before its too late.
“They only played high school or college level and still had developed the changes of CTE. It’s not well understood that kids playing amateur-level sports are at risk. This isn’t a disease only of pro athletes. There’s an urgent need to address it at the amateur level.” – Boston Center Director Ann McKee.
The NFL uses a five-step return-to-play process, including evaluation by an independent neurological consultant. The horrific shooting in Manhattan has brought CTE back into the public’s attention. Technology also plays a role in player safety. Professional teams use helmet impact sensors and analytics to monitor hits. High school programs rarely have access to such technology and rely on visual observation and self-reporting by athletes, who may feel pressure to keep playing.
Aggression is not a defining characteristic of CTE, as there are several symptoms
Some individuals with CTE show increased aggression, but violence is not a universal symptom. Several ex-NFL players, including Jovan Belcher, Irv Cross, Conrad Dobler, Chris Henry, Vincent Jackson, Terry Long, Junior Seau, Demaryius Thomas, and Frank Wycheck, were found to have CTE after their deaths. Some faced behavioral or mental health challenges such as dementia and depression following distinguished careers in the violent sport. The NFL will need to get a handle on the situation before it affects the Olympic flag football event in 2028.
“We can’t explain where the problem lies in the brain. We’re miles away from trying to figure that out,” he said. “Just like with Alzheimer’s disease, some become aggressive and some don’t. Why that happens and whom it happens to, we don’t know.” – Dr. Brent Masel, executive clinical professor of neurology at the University of Texas.
Coaches Database/Reuters
