Tre Mason's mother: RB is like '10-year-old' due to head injuries
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12intheBox
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- Wil Fay
That's what jury selection is for. Gotta cut thru the weeds.
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- Dave
OK, wow.
I haven't been able to finish this thread to see if it gets better.... I apologize in advance if this gets long and preachy.
My sister-in-law suffers from bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia. She had none of these issues effect her life enough to need medical attention until early adulthood.
From what little info I have on Masons behavior, I can see some similarities that fit that diagnosis.
A friend on mine on my high-school team suffered TWO severe concussions on the field, both his sophomore and junior years.
He wasn't right after the first one and basically shattered mentally after the second. Slurred speech, irrational behavior and impulse control were all present. He was on full disability when he was 18. These were football related head injuries. Head injuries cause head problems, just back injuries cause back problems.
We dont need a movie to understand that head injuries can cause serious mental health problems. I don't see any reason why Masons problems couldn't be linked to a football related head injury.
Drugs are always an easy scapegoat but drugs don't make healthy people crazy as much as it is blamed on them. They can, but often the case is that many people who struggle with mental illness/disorders/brain damage also happen to use drugs.
The guy is a RAM!!! More importantly, he is a human being. He isn't a "thug". He isn't a "bust" with a bad attitude. He isn't a known junkie or alcoholic that washed out of the league because of his addiction. He didnt even tweet "Yikes" and bitch and moan, he showed up to camp seeming positive and ready to show everyone that he wasn't going to lay down and hand it over.
He hasn't ever been linked to anything so terrible that would inspire all the self-righteous, judgemental, vitriolic shit being spewed and piled on him.
He is not some repeat offender of anything.
Plenty of real, proven shitheads out there for people who need someone to hate on...
Sorry for the rant
I haven't been able to finish this thread to see if it gets better.... I apologize in advance if this gets long and preachy.
My sister-in-law suffers from bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia. She had none of these issues effect her life enough to need medical attention until early adulthood.
From what little info I have on Masons behavior, I can see some similarities that fit that diagnosis.
A friend on mine on my high-school team suffered TWO severe concussions on the field, both his sophomore and junior years.
He wasn't right after the first one and basically shattered mentally after the second. Slurred speech, irrational behavior and impulse control were all present. He was on full disability when he was 18. These were football related head injuries. Head injuries cause head problems, just back injuries cause back problems.
We dont need a movie to understand that head injuries can cause serious mental health problems. I don't see any reason why Masons problems couldn't be linked to a football related head injury.
Drugs are always an easy scapegoat but drugs don't make healthy people crazy as much as it is blamed on them. They can, but often the case is that many people who struggle with mental illness/disorders/brain damage also happen to use drugs.
The guy is a RAM!!! More importantly, he is a human being. He isn't a "thug". He isn't a "bust" with a bad attitude. He isn't a known junkie or alcoholic that washed out of the league because of his addiction. He didnt even tweet "Yikes" and bitch and moan, he showed up to camp seeming positive and ready to show everyone that he wasn't going to lay down and hand it over.
He hasn't ever been linked to anything so terrible that would inspire all the self-righteous, judgemental, vitriolic shit being spewed and piled on him.
He is not some repeat offender of anything.
Plenty of real, proven shitheads out there for people who need someone to hate on...
Sorry for the rant
fancents86
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Oh jesus...didn't we already have a thread that turned into a shyt show about this? No one here is a doctor (that I know of) and no one here has done an analysis on Mason, so whatever opinion anyone here has doesn't mean jack. Let's just let it go.
Pancake
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Athos
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And yea, people with with mental disorders and the means have never self-medicated before.
Like depression. Or other things.
Robin Williams was sure as shit a pro at hiding it. Unless you know people personally you aren't gonna pick up on signs unless you're a professional.
Shit this place is a cesspool. Yes. These athletes make a lot of money and know the risks. But oh, they make past a certain point so we shouldn't feel empathetic or compassionate about their situation.
I guess we shouldn't give a fuck if some Joe Schmoe dies because of coal mining. Or death by crushing in bridge work. Or death from war because they're a solider. After all, it was THEIR choice, amiright?
It's always an indictment of the worst people reason for people's behavior though before any facts come out.
Jesus fuck. I hope many of you never serve on a jury.
Like depression. Or other things.
Robin Williams was sure as shit a pro at hiding it. Unless you know people personally you aren't gonna pick up on signs unless you're a professional.
Shit this place is a cesspool. Yes. These athletes make a lot of money and know the risks. But oh, they make past a certain point so we shouldn't feel empathetic or compassionate about their situation.
I guess we shouldn't give a fuck if some Joe Schmoe dies because of coal mining. Or death by crushing in bridge work. Or death from war because they're a solider. After all, it was THEIR choice, amiright?
It's always an indictment of the worst people reason for people's behavior though before any facts come out.
Jesus fuck. I hope many of you never serve on a jury.
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Yeah it's great that he only started playing last year. He probably would have been really messed up if he had started in grade school.
LesBaker
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What bothers me is these reports of Tre acting weird and his family has yet to take him in and have him diagnosed. Damn, if someone in my family started getting into trouble with the law , talking weird and acting out of character, Me and mine would hustle them off to get looked at, wheather they wanted to go or not. Mom said he doesn't know what he;s doing, so why is he out on a four wheeler and out driving a car? I haven't heard of him being treated or even a dr. visit.
Debacled
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Tre's mom needs to get on top of this and trying to blame something like CTE because its in the news is doing nothing but hurting the man. Do something other than point fingers.
Just going off what we've seen it looks a lot like undiagnosed and untreated schizophrenia. The age of onset fits, as does the way he is acting. I had a buddy who in his early twenties just went completely off the deep end until his family managed to get him some REAL MEDICAL HELP that he really needed. He still isn't the same guy I grew up with playing football with in the back yards but at least he is cognizant now. The symptoms are still there, but at least now he can differentiate between what is really going on and what his mind is making up and throwing at him.
Just going off what we've seen it looks a lot like undiagnosed and untreated schizophrenia. The age of onset fits, as does the way he is acting. I had a buddy who in his early twenties just went completely off the deep end until his family managed to get him some REAL MEDICAL HELP that he really needed. He still isn't the same guy I grew up with playing football with in the back yards but at least he is cognizant now. The symptoms are still there, but at least now he can differentiate between what is really going on and what his mind is making up and throwing at him.
A.J. Hicks
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I don't like all the hate you guys seem to put forth.
The dude just needs help and needs to establish a liveable life. Get the dude some help. There are a lot of options but he needs something.
The dude just needs help and needs to establish a liveable life. Get the dude some help. There are a lot of options but he needs something.
12intheBox
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That's called kidnapping and it's a felony. You can't take an adult somewhere he doesn't want to go - even if your motives are pure. He has to pass the threshold for involuntary commitment first.
Psycho_X
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Yeah agreed, I don't even really know what the argument is anymore lol. It seems like there's multiple sides to multiple problems that aren't the same. To me, on this forum, I am concerned about the Rams perspective. From that perspective, to me, Mason is done with pro football. I'm not unsympathetic to the needs he may have going forward but it's something his family and friends need to handle. His personal life has nothing to do with me and I don't care about it. Hope the man gets the help he needs but life goes on.
12intheBox
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We look like we are closer to causing it than curing it in this thread.
The Internet is full of badasses - I get that. And we live in a mostly free country - people here can treat each other the way they see fit. As for me - I'm still going to push for a little humanity. The world needs it.
Dieter the Brock
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August 6th- Mason was admitted to a mental hospital
Tre Mason admitted to South Florida hospital for mental health evaluation
PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. - Los Angeles Rams running back Tre Mason, who failed to report for training camp, was admitted to a South Florida hospital last month for a mental health evaluation, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office report.
Tre Mason admitted to South Florida hospital for mental health evaluation
PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. - Los Angeles Rams running back Tre Mason, who failed to report for training camp, was admitted to a South Florida hospital last month for a mental health evaluation, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office report.
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http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/08/23/nfl-ben-utecht-book-counting-days-while-my-mind-slips-away
Counting the Days While My Mind Slips Away
Suffering from short- and long-term memory loss, former NFL tight end Ben Utecht wrote a book framed as a love letter to his family
by Emily Kaplan
LAKEVILLE, Minn. — Of the dozens of tiny shoes scattered across the garage, Ben Utecht kicks aside a pair of pink Crocs in order to open the door to his home. Once inside, he incites a mini-stampede.
“Daddyyyyy!” squeals 7-year-old Elleora, the eldest of Utecht’s four daughters. She greets her father with a bear hug around his legs and then cartwheels across the living room in her aqua leotard. “I’m so glad you’re home!”
Utecht was gone for only two hours, but he feels a lump in his throat watching Elleora cartwheel again. He seers the image into his brain, but knows he may not be able to access it someday.
“I try to value every moment, no matter how small,” he says. “Until recently, I never realized how special memory is.”
At 35, the former tight end is fearful for his mental health— the ultimate price of having suffered five major concussions between college and pro football. To preserve the memories he still has, Utecht wrote a book, Counting the Days While My Mind Slips Away, that is framed as a love letter to his family.
“This book is a keepsake,” Utecht says. “I wanted to provide content for my daughters to be able to hold on to, to have forever.”
Photo: Emily Kaplan/The MMQB :: Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Undrafted coming out of Minnesota in 2004, Utecht lasted five-plus NFL seasons with the Colts and Bengals, catching 87 passes for 923 yards and three touchdowns.
To some, he’s best remembered as the hulking, durable tight end for the Colts when they won Super Bowl XLI at the end of the ’06 season. To others, he’s best remembered for his endeavors away from the field, having sung in 16 Christmas shows with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
The last of his five major concussions was documented on the 2009 season ofHard Knocks, when he was with the Bengals. On Aug. 5, a linebacker’s helmet hit Utecht right above the face mask, leaving the tight end unconscious on the field for more than 10 minutes. An entry from his journal four days later read: “Random headaches, dizziness, sleeplessness, night sweating, loss of balance, fatigue, nausea, hard time driving in car, forgetting sentences, hard to concentrate, irritability, sadness, snapping at wife.”
Utecht writes in his book that the Bengals initially blocked his attempts to receive a second opinion from Dr. Robert Cantu in Boston; three weeks after his concussion he hadn’t seen an independent neurologist, neurosurgeon or doctor who specialized in the brain. Still, he was placed on injured reserve. By October, Dr. Cantu had been consulted; he and team doctors cleared Utecht to do “light” aerobic activity, though Utecht writes that “no one from the team’s medical or training staff gave me any sort of workout plan to follow.
Basically it was left to me to figure out.” When Utecht’s headaches subsided by mid-October, he says, Thomas Sullivan, the team’s neuropsychologist, gave him permission to increase his workload to a “moderate level.” Utecht began lifting weights but was still largely unmonitored by the team. One day he attempted a triceps-extension with a 45-pound free weight, and his vision began to go black. In November he tried lifting again, and also began to do light jogging.
Without warning, the Bengals cut him on November 18. Utecht filed a grievance, arguing that he never should have been cleared to play.
Cleared to play?
In his book, Utecht writes:
I called Dr. Cantu's office. When I told him what had happened he was nearly speechless.
“Who cleared you to play?” he asked.
“I don't know," I replied. "The only doctor I have seen of late was Tom Sullivan, I met with him a week ago.”
“But he's not a medical doctor. He shouldn't be able to make that call,” Dr. Cantu said.
“There's a lot that's happened that seems a little unusual,” I said.
After a three-year legal battle, Utecht was awarded the remainder of his 2009 salary.
“Culture is such a buzzword these days, because it’s the only word that can describe when you have really good people working in a system that is broken,” Utecht says. “Because they work in a system that is broken, they make decisions sometimes that have a negative effect on individuals. It wasn’t a matter of the NFL or the Bengals ever being ill-equipped to handle my concussions. There just weren’t procedures or regulations in place, and that’s a problem.”
In December 2009, the NFL fortified its return-to-play protocols; teams were instructed to have concussed players consult independent neurologists.
Utecht has emerged as an advocate for brain trauma research and treatment. He testified before Congress about concussion issues in 2014. He gave more than two dozen presentations last year, mostly at corporate events. One of his themes centers on valuing memories and making the most of moments; the other is about leadership and teamwork and his experiences with the Colts.
“I’m not an anti-football guy,” says Utecht, who treasures his diamond-encrusted Super Bowl ring. “I’m not a bitter guy. I believe in advocacy, and I believe in justice, and the power of good. I hope in this book you’ll see more than the controversy or dirt. It’s a lifestyle book.”
The son of a Methodist minister, Utecht approached football with a Midwest sensibility. He battled through a broken foot as a four-year starter at Minnesota and overcame other joint and muscle ailments as an undrafted free agent. Utecht says that from high school through the NFL, he can’t calculate the amount of pain, anti-inflammatory pills or shots he took. “I don’t think there was even one week where I didn’t have to take something, even if it was as small as an Advil,” he writes.
In Indianapolis, Utecht battled not only his own health, but also a crowded tight end room (Dallas Clark, Bryan Fletcher and Ben Harstock). He evokes a popular sports anecdote throughout his book, about how Lou Gehrig’s consecutive-games streak started when he took over for an injured Wally Pipp. Colts coaches framed the anecdote from Pipp’s perspective, telling players to fear being replaced.
Utecht doesn’t regret playing football but wishes he had stopped after his fourth concussion, with the Colts in 2007. And yet, as Utecht watched footage of Aaron Hernandez’s arrest in 2013, he called his agent to see if the suddenly tight end-needy Patriots might be interested in bringing in a veteran. (They weren’t.)
The most harrowing passages of the book involve Utecht’s memory loss, which dates back to his playing days. When his former Colts teammate Dylan Gandy and his wife, Melody, visited Utecht for lunch in 2007, Melody commented on the upgrades that Ben had made to his house.
“Melody, when were you here before?” Ben asked.
Melody and Dylan were incredulous; they had visited just a few months earlier.
Utecht also has no memory of a friend’s wedding. Not only was he a groomsman, but he also sang at the event.
“It's the most awful feeling,” he says. “Not knowing what else might slip away, too.”
Last year Utecht underwent a 20-week, 100-hour intensive brain-training program at LearningRx in Minnesota. He says it has improved parts of his memory. His baseline testing showed that his short-term memory was in the 12thpercentile and his long-term memory was in the 17th. “Both not good at all,” Utecht says. After the training, the same tests showed increases to the 78th and 98 percentiles, respectively.
“Writing the book was therapeutic,” says Utecht, who moved back home in 2012. “Here in Minnesota, I was in the land of memories.”
Old ones—and new ones, too.
Counting the Days While My Mind Slips Away
Suffering from short- and long-term memory loss, former NFL tight end Ben Utecht wrote a book framed as a love letter to his family
by Emily Kaplan
LAKEVILLE, Minn. — Of the dozens of tiny shoes scattered across the garage, Ben Utecht kicks aside a pair of pink Crocs in order to open the door to his home. Once inside, he incites a mini-stampede.
“Daddyyyyy!” squeals 7-year-old Elleora, the eldest of Utecht’s four daughters. She greets her father with a bear hug around his legs and then cartwheels across the living room in her aqua leotard. “I’m so glad you’re home!”
Utecht was gone for only two hours, but he feels a lump in his throat watching Elleora cartwheel again. He seers the image into his brain, but knows he may not be able to access it someday.
“I try to value every moment, no matter how small,” he says. “Until recently, I never realized how special memory is.”
At 35, the former tight end is fearful for his mental health— the ultimate price of having suffered five major concussions between college and pro football. To preserve the memories he still has, Utecht wrote a book, Counting the Days While My Mind Slips Away, that is framed as a love letter to his family.
“This book is a keepsake,” Utecht says. “I wanted to provide content for my daughters to be able to hold on to, to have forever.”
Photo: Emily Kaplan/The MMQB :: Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Undrafted coming out of Minnesota in 2004, Utecht lasted five-plus NFL seasons with the Colts and Bengals, catching 87 passes for 923 yards and three touchdowns.
To some, he’s best remembered as the hulking, durable tight end for the Colts when they won Super Bowl XLI at the end of the ’06 season. To others, he’s best remembered for his endeavors away from the field, having sung in 16 Christmas shows with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
The last of his five major concussions was documented on the 2009 season ofHard Knocks, when he was with the Bengals. On Aug. 5, a linebacker’s helmet hit Utecht right above the face mask, leaving the tight end unconscious on the field for more than 10 minutes. An entry from his journal four days later read: “Random headaches, dizziness, sleeplessness, night sweating, loss of balance, fatigue, nausea, hard time driving in car, forgetting sentences, hard to concentrate, irritability, sadness, snapping at wife.”
Utecht writes in his book that the Bengals initially blocked his attempts to receive a second opinion from Dr. Robert Cantu in Boston; three weeks after his concussion he hadn’t seen an independent neurologist, neurosurgeon or doctor who specialized in the brain. Still, he was placed on injured reserve. By October, Dr. Cantu had been consulted; he and team doctors cleared Utecht to do “light” aerobic activity, though Utecht writes that “no one from the team’s medical or training staff gave me any sort of workout plan to follow.
Basically it was left to me to figure out.” When Utecht’s headaches subsided by mid-October, he says, Thomas Sullivan, the team’s neuropsychologist, gave him permission to increase his workload to a “moderate level.” Utecht began lifting weights but was still largely unmonitored by the team. One day he attempted a triceps-extension with a 45-pound free weight, and his vision began to go black. In November he tried lifting again, and also began to do light jogging.
Without warning, the Bengals cut him on November 18. Utecht filed a grievance, arguing that he never should have been cleared to play.
Cleared to play?
In his book, Utecht writes:
I called Dr. Cantu's office. When I told him what had happened he was nearly speechless.
“Who cleared you to play?” he asked.
“I don't know," I replied. "The only doctor I have seen of late was Tom Sullivan, I met with him a week ago.”
“But he's not a medical doctor. He shouldn't be able to make that call,” Dr. Cantu said.
“There's a lot that's happened that seems a little unusual,” I said.
After a three-year legal battle, Utecht was awarded the remainder of his 2009 salary.
“Culture is such a buzzword these days, because it’s the only word that can describe when you have really good people working in a system that is broken,” Utecht says. “Because they work in a system that is broken, they make decisions sometimes that have a negative effect on individuals. It wasn’t a matter of the NFL or the Bengals ever being ill-equipped to handle my concussions. There just weren’t procedures or regulations in place, and that’s a problem.”
In December 2009, the NFL fortified its return-to-play protocols; teams were instructed to have concussed players consult independent neurologists.
Utecht has emerged as an advocate for brain trauma research and treatment. He testified before Congress about concussion issues in 2014. He gave more than two dozen presentations last year, mostly at corporate events. One of his themes centers on valuing memories and making the most of moments; the other is about leadership and teamwork and his experiences with the Colts.
“I’m not an anti-football guy,” says Utecht, who treasures his diamond-encrusted Super Bowl ring. “I’m not a bitter guy. I believe in advocacy, and I believe in justice, and the power of good. I hope in this book you’ll see more than the controversy or dirt. It’s a lifestyle book.”
The son of a Methodist minister, Utecht approached football with a Midwest sensibility. He battled through a broken foot as a four-year starter at Minnesota and overcame other joint and muscle ailments as an undrafted free agent. Utecht says that from high school through the NFL, he can’t calculate the amount of pain, anti-inflammatory pills or shots he took. “I don’t think there was even one week where I didn’t have to take something, even if it was as small as an Advil,” he writes.
In Indianapolis, Utecht battled not only his own health, but also a crowded tight end room (Dallas Clark, Bryan Fletcher and Ben Harstock). He evokes a popular sports anecdote throughout his book, about how Lou Gehrig’s consecutive-games streak started when he took over for an injured Wally Pipp. Colts coaches framed the anecdote from Pipp’s perspective, telling players to fear being replaced.
Utecht doesn’t regret playing football but wishes he had stopped after his fourth concussion, with the Colts in 2007. And yet, as Utecht watched footage of Aaron Hernandez’s arrest in 2013, he called his agent to see if the suddenly tight end-needy Patriots might be interested in bringing in a veteran. (They weren’t.)
The most harrowing passages of the book involve Utecht’s memory loss, which dates back to his playing days. When his former Colts teammate Dylan Gandy and his wife, Melody, visited Utecht for lunch in 2007, Melody commented on the upgrades that Ben had made to his house.
“Melody, when were you here before?” Ben asked.
Melody and Dylan were incredulous; they had visited just a few months earlier.
Utecht also has no memory of a friend’s wedding. Not only was he a groomsman, but he also sang at the event.
“It's the most awful feeling,” he says. “Not knowing what else might slip away, too.”
Last year Utecht underwent a 20-week, 100-hour intensive brain-training program at LearningRx in Minnesota. He says it has improved parts of his memory. His baseline testing showed that his short-term memory was in the 12thpercentile and his long-term memory was in the 17th. “Both not good at all,” Utecht says. After the training, the same tests showed increases to the 78th and 98 percentiles, respectively.
“Writing the book was therapeutic,” says Utecht, who moved back home in 2012. “Here in Minnesota, I was in the land of memories.”
Old ones—and new ones, too.
LACHAMP46
A snazzy title
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Someone put that clip of the TD Tre scored when he was trying a HB pass...think it was last year. He got blasted at the goalline, and fumbled but scored b4 it happened. He was clearly knocked the fuck out...I've seen some tremendous collisions in college too. Guys only 5'8....and runs like a big back...It wouldn't surprise me in the least...Esp. after seeing the concussion film...
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FrankenRam
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THANK YOU!!
It's always amusing to see all the armchair internet GM's pontificate on game/related stuff as if they'd been part of a team for 30 yr.
But I didn't know it was possible to get a medical degree online and diagnose illnesses from what is read in the media.
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