Former NFL player Junior Seau found dead

[Dolph'sZiggler]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/report-nfl-legend-junior-seau-dead-182120394.html
http://www.tmz.com/2012/05/02/junior-seau-dead/#.T6F-19W6HQM

One of the greatest players/linebackers of the 90s. TMZ is reporting it was a probably suicide.

So sad that so many athletes suffer from depression after their playing days are over. RIP

__________

Seau is the 8th member of the 1994 Chargers team that went to the Super Bowl to pass.

http://deadspin.com/5867720/death-is-stalking-the-1994-chargers

Crazy

 

[Crayo]

Holy crap that's horrible. It's so true though, once their sports career is over (which inevitably is in there 30's/40's) they often so suffer with depression.

RIP.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

Yep. I mean, from the time they are 4 or 5 years old they are playing sports. They go through HS, college, and obviously there entire adult lives up to retirement doing nothing but playing the sport they love. Once they lose that ability it's bad news for all too many of them. And I don't mean to generalize, because obviously plenty of them are able to balance their personal lives along with their professional lives, but sooooo many of them wind up divorced, not seeing their kids often, ect.. and couple that with losing their livelihood of playing sports and it's got to be overwhelming for the guys who wind up in that situation. Obviously Seau fits the mold being divorced and as this report says he hadn't seen his children in three weeks.

It's a sad reality that often follows the fame and fortune of the glory days for some of these players who are on top of the world during their playing days. It's really depressing to think about.

 

[Crayo]

Yeah agreed. Does the NFL have some sort of federation to help them after? Here in the UK I think there's a premier league support federation or something. It provides things like former players taking their managers badges (pass those and become a manager basically), provides emotional support etc too. Managers have one too, since their constantly in the spotlight and getting fired here and there, that's one thing the UK does really well.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

I really doubt it unless they put it together over the past couple of years. There was a lot of outcry not long ago about how old veterans of the league were treated and it resulted in them getting a bigger pension and better health care for ex players. Basically The league has been facing a lot of law suits from old players because guys who played have a lot of health issues, mental issues, and tons of them die at a very young age (similar to wrestlers really) from the violent nature of the game and repeated blows to the head a player takes. It's resulted in a ton of new safety rules over the past decade.

As far as a federation like the one you described, I don't believe there is one.