Alex Karras, '60s NFL Lineman with Dementia, Dies at 77
Published: Oct 10, 2012
Former gridiron star Alex Karras, formally diagnosed with dementia and having lived with its symptoms for more than a dozen years, died Wednesday at the age of 77.
Karras, a tackle for the Detroit Lions, was drafted by the team in 1958 and played with the Lions until he retired in 1970. Having had multiple concussions over that 12 year span, he was one of the most recognized names on the roster of 3,500 former National Football League players who filed suit against the league for misleading them about the dangers of concussions and the resulting condition now known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
The condition first gained wide public awareness after the suicide of Dave Duerson in 2011.
Duerson shot himself in the chest, deliberately sparing his brain, which was left to the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy. The center now has more than 60 cases in its brain bank and is conducting research into the deteriorative processes that have led to depression and dementia in former athletes.
Among the physical changes found in former players' brains have been neurofibrillary tangles, threadlike neurites, and widespread cerebral atrophy.
At this writing, Karras' family had not decided whether to donate his brain for study.
Other recent casualties have included former Atlanta Falcons' player Ray Easterling, and "Junior" Seau, both of whom died young of self-inflicted gunshot wounds, and hockey "enforcer" Derek Boogaard, who was troubled with drug addiction and alcohol abuse before dying at age 28.
Karras didn't die prematurely or by his own hand, having gone on to a successful acting and sportscasting career after his dozen years on the Lions, where he participated in four Pro Bowl games.
He also had many other health problems, including heart and kidney disease and stomach cancer, but his later life was plagued by mental deterioration, according to his wife, Susan Clark.
"He is interested in making the game of football safer and hoping that other families of retired players will have a healthier and happier retirement," Clark was quoted as saying by the New York Times.
The NFL recently instituted rule changes to make concussions less likely and tightened restrictions on players' return to play after experiencing a concussion.
However, players still are not required to wear helmets specifically designed to minimize the effects of head trauma, and one prominent helmet manufacturer, Riddell, also faces lawsuits.
In a consolidated complaint to the courts, the players stated their action "arises from the pathological and debilitating effects of mild traumatic brain injuries ... caused by the concussive and subconcussive impacts that have afflicted former professional football players in the NFL. For many decades, evidence has linked repetitive mild traumatic brain injuries to long-term neurological problems in many sports, including football. The NFL, as the organizer, marketer and face of the most popular sport in the U.S. ... was aware of the evidence and the risks associated with repetitive traumatic brain injuries virtually at its inception, but deliberately ignored and actively concealed the information."
In late August, the NFL filed a motion in federal court seeking to have the lawsuits dismissed.
end quote from:
http://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/dementia/35252
You might remember him as punching the horse and knocking it out in "Blazing Saddles" and various roles he played in movies and TV around that time and after.
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