Pressures of Fame can leave effects long after the lights go down PART ONE

Another high profile casualty of post stardom angst?

A spiral of depression clouding judgement or the influence of brain damage inflicted during a career in sport - 

sometimes perhaps due additionally to something such as substance abuse? 

Is there something similar for other performers whom have tasted fame?

A verdict of suicide has been delivered by the Coroner's Office in San Diego in the case of Junior Seau, who died on May 2nd: this again has exploded the possible effects of playing National Football League (NFL) American Football, and a colleague of Polynesian Seau's has intimated that his position made him at risk from collision injury and repeated concussion. 

Ex-San Francisco 49er Riki Ellison was, like Seau, a Middle Linebacker, enduring the most violent contacts involving the head and helmet with what he claims as a 'head-first' approach as being a fundamental of the position.  He feels that the tragic events occurred as a result of sustained concussions to the brain, along with an inability to control depression that follows the end of a career of extraordinary accomplishment over 20 seasons. 

Regular readers of this blog would recognise this mix of depression and post-career disappointments with a background of actual brain changes (see SPACE blogs on concussion) can lead to suicidal self-fulfilling prophecies with the ultimate results being tragic family circumstances, divorce, and death.

Achievements of extraordinary accomplishment have often been hand in hand with adrenaline rushes only rarely experienced unless competing at world-class levels.


It has been experienced enough for Jacob Bell, an offensive lineman whom has recently signed with the Cincinatti Begals after a four year period at the St Louis Rams. He has quit the sport at the age of 31 actually citing the Seau suicide as the 'cherry on the top' in a list of factors.  This week Bell also claimed in an interview with the St Louis Post-Dispatch that there was another factor to his decision: 
“I've had a lot of fun playing. I've seen a lot of things. I've played in a lot of games. The reality is that for me it came down to risk and reward. I think you've always got to weigh that out. At some point, you've got to kind of figure out what you're in the game for. 


One of my biggest concerns when it comes to the game in general is my personal health. One thing that's obviously on the minds of a lot of people lately is brain research and all the stuff that's going on with that." He has also suggested he suffered from about 30 concussions in a season (Washington Post article on Jacob Bell)!


As a further 100 or so ex-players have added their names to lawsuits against the NFL in addition to the 1500 former NFL athletes already suing regarding head injuries sustained in their careers, we can expect more of the type of stories exploding over the media this month since Junior Seau's tragic passing-another athlete seeking to leave his head to medical science, another self-fulfilling prophecy leaving more than just a scarred brain behind him-which is a real tragedy.