RIP Jason Hairston San Jose Mercury: "I played linebacker, and the way I played the game, I led with my head,” he said in a 2016 interview, according to the Daily Mail. “I played the way they tell us not to play now. I have all the symptoms of CTE.” In addition, according to his bio on KUIU’s website, Hairston sustained a severe neck injury during his junior season of college, “hard enough to break my C5 and C6 vertebrae, each in seven different places.” Hairston cited ongoing neck issues as the reason he retired from football.
This raises questions for our program.
Were the broken vertebrae diagnosed? If yes, why did we let him continue to play; if no, how did we miss it?
Why did we allow a player to lead with his head when tackling?