Louis Bien
SB Nation
Chris Borland's decision to retire from football after just one very promising season in the NFL was a sobering moment for a lot of people partaking in the sport in some capacity -- fans, players, coaches, etc. Borland made the decision after extensive research that went beyond a few inspired Google searches. He directly reached out to researchers, asked his own questions, and made a decision, for himself alone, that he would be better off quitting the sport and saving his brain from the accumulated damage of thousands of impacts.
At the time of his retirement, Borland was quiet. He explained the decision to ESPN's Outside the Lines, then set out on the rest of his life. Now, five months later, ESPN The Magazine has a detailed account of what Borland has been doing, how he feels about football and what he thinks the future of the sport may be.
Borland believes he's suffered 30 concussions
A visit to the Boston School of Medicine after he retired revealed just how much damage to his brain Borland may have done.
"Some people have the misconception that concussions occur only after you black out when you get a hit to the head or to your body," the graduate assistant told him. "But in reality, concussions have occurred any time you've had any symptoms for any period of time." She ticked them off: blurred vision, seeing stars, sensitivity to light or noise, headaches, dizziness, etc.
"Based on that definition, how many concussions do you think you've had?" she asked.
Borland paused.
"I don't know, 30?" he said finally. "Yeah, I think 30's a good estimate."
Thankfully, Borland's vital signs appear to be okay.
The NFL surprised Borland with a drug test after he retired
The timing of this request was certainly curious, especially because Borland had made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that he would not be returning to football. Borland, knowing that his name might be sullied if he refused to take the test, agreed, but also had an independent test conducted.
"I don't want to be a conspiracy theorist," he says. "I just wanted to be sure." Borland agreed to submit a urine sample to the NFL's representative, who drove in from Green Bay and administered the test in the Wisconsin trainer's room. Then he hired a private firm for $150 to test him independently. Both tests came back negative, according to Borland.
"I don't really trust the NFL," he says
More here:
http://www.sbnation.com/2015/8/20/9183121/chris-borland-concussions-nfl-retirement-profile
