Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk has announced that he will be donating his brain for research upon his death. Birk hopes that the research stemming from the study of his brain will help mold new NFL players safety procedures that have come under fire recently.
NFL safety procedures have been a hot topic for the last several years as former players have complained about football related head trauma leading to permanent brain injuries including, but not limited to, dementia and Alzheimer's. The debate became even more heated after former player Junior Seau committed suicide in May of 2012 due to depression believed to have been brought on by brain damage during his playing career.
Just 1 month later thousands of former players consolidated into a single lawsuit against the National Football League. The lawsuit states that the NFL did not only fail to adequately research long term effects of concussions but actually covered up findings that brain injuries could lead to the major neurological conditions that Seau and players like him have dealt with.
The legal side of this story is very complicated as it is expected to take many years before it is even heard in court, if ever. Right now the most important thing is current and future players safety but that safety can only be improved by the current players and NFL executives. The first thing that the league needs is more players like Matt Birk who selflessly donate their body's to science in order to help future generations. The second, and more important step of the process, is for the NFL executives to sit down in a room and negotiate a settlement with former players so that everyone can focus on player safety which really should be the highest priority.
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