Brett Favre, who spent 20 years in professional football, is the latest former NFL player to go public about his memory problems.
The former star quarterback, who played 321 straight games in the National Football League before retiring in 2010, told Sports Talk 570 in Washington in an interview Thursday he can't remember his daughter participating in youth soccer one summer, even though she played more than a few games, network reports said Friday.
"This was a little shocking to me that I couldn't remember my daughter playing youth soccer," he said, CBS News reported.
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"It was just one summer, I think. I could remember her playing basketball, I could remember her playing volleyball, so I kind of think maybe [I thought] she only played a [soccer] game or two. Well, I think she played like eight. So that's a little bit scary to me.
"So for the first time in 44 years, that kind of put a little fear in me."
New research into the effects of repeated head injuries on pro football players has only recently revealed how devastating the longterm toll can be — and as a result, the NFL has come under fire for putting players in unsafe conditions, ABC News reported.
"There is still a pervasive belief that only a concussion serious enough to knock the athlete out will do damage, but that's not the case," Harvard neurologist, Dr. Marie Pasinski, told ABC News.
"Any blow to the head that leaves a person slightly dazed or not quite right may cause harm to the brain."
There's no proof that Favre is suffering from
chronic traumatic encephalopathy — a disease that has been found in the brains of many athletes who suffered repeated hits to the head during their career, CNN noted. CTE can only be diagnosed after death.
Patients with the condition have symptoms like impulsivity, forgetfulness, depression, and sometimes, thoughts of suicide, Dr. Russell Lonser, chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at Ohio State University, told ABC News.
Favre's admission about his memory came just days after the St. Louis Rams called the retired quarterback to see if would return to the field to play for them.
"I want to live a long time, I want to live healthy, as close to normal life as I can," said Favre.
Favre has had several documented concussions, including
the last play of his career with the Minnesota Vikings in 2010, which he described as so severe he didn't even know what team he was playing, CBS Sports reported.
"When I first started playing, those first 10 years, they didn't keep a log like they do now, so there's no telling," Favre said.
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