Another retired NFL player dies young

[TrueBeliever]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2448217

Ex-Bengals tight end Ross dies at 49

By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

Former standout tight end Dan Ross, who spent most of his seven NFL seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and still shares the record for most receptions in a Super Bowl, died Tuesday at age 49.

His death, first reported by the Boston Herald on Wednesday morning, was confirmed by family members and city officials in his hometown of Atkinson, New Hampshire. Ross reportedly collapsed at his home after returning from an evening jog. He was transported to Merrimack Valley Hospital in Haverhill, Mass., where he was pronounced dead.

Officials have not yet determined a cause of death.

Ross was the Bengals' second-round choice in the 1979 draft, the 30th player selected overall that year. He earned a starting berth as a rookie and notched 41 catches for 516 yards and one touchdown. In his first five seasons with the Bengals, Ross posted more than 40 receptions every year, and he averaged 51.4 catches and 628.2 yards, and scored 16 touchdowns.

His best season was in 1981, when Ross had 71 receptions for 910 yards and five touchdowns. Following that season, in a Super Bowl XVI loss to the San Francisco 49ers, he had 11 catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns. The 11 receptions remain a Super Bowl record shared by Jerry Rice of the 49ers and Deion Branch of the New England Patriots.

Ross left the Bengals following the 1983 season to sign with the New Orleans Breakers of the USFL. He returned to Cincinnati in 1985, and split that season between the Bengals and Seattle Seahawks. His final season in the NFL was in 1986 with the Green Bay Packers.

In 104 regular-season games, Ross had 290 receptions for 3,419 yards and 19 touchdowns. He appeared in the 1983 Pro Bowl game.

A former Northeastern standout, and a two-time college All-American, Ross had his number retired by the school following his graduation. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

He still holds the Northeastern record for receptions in a season with 68 and is second on the all-time list in career receptions and yards receiving.

"His specialty was attracting crowds and still hanging onto the football," the university said in a statement. "His tremendous power, concentration, hands, blocking ability and open field running added up to one of the most exciting athletes to ever take the gridiron in New England."

Ross is survived by his wife, Joan, and two children Dan Jr., 22, and Jillian, 23.

[cka203]

That really is too bad... only 49 years young... :(

[TrueBeliever]

I know that there are hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of former longtime NFL players still alive, but you've got to admit this trend is getting disturbing.

Perhaps the NFLPA will start seeking more pension or health care funds for retirees?

[chef]

Originally posted by TrueBeliever
I know that there are hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of former longtime NFL players still alive, but you've got to admit this trend is getting disturbing.

Perhaps the NFLPA will start seeking more pension or health care funds for retirees?

has anyone ever considered that this could be something like heart failure from steriods or shit?

[HelenaHandbsket]

Originally posted by chef
has anyone ever considered that this could be something like heart failure from steriods or shit?

Agreed! I was thinking cocaine or some other fun party drugs.

No way was LT the only player to abuse the hell out of drugs. If it doesn't kill you, it doesn't necessarily make you stronger.

[aaava]

I have to agree that the first thought I had when I read this was 'ex-steroid' user.

An enlarged heart, liver problems--these are just a few of the symptoms caused by extended steroid use...

[mikiemo83]

I just think let him rest in peace, why he died or how he died really means little to his family at this point and if it is found that past abuse led to his demise then shame on him and he paid the price for success but many times we inquire into places we shouldn't or don't really want to go.

[PA_PATS_FAN54*]

Originally posted by mikiemo83
I just think let him rest in peace, why he died or how he died really means little to his family at this point and if it is found that past abuse led to his demise then shame on him and he paid the price for success but many times we inquire into places we shouldn't or don't really want to go.

Well said Mikie

RIP Mr. Ross

[HelenaHandbsket]

Originally posted by mikiemo83
I just think let him rest in peace, why he died or how he died really means little to his family at this point and if it is found that past abuse led to his demise then shame on him and he paid the price for success but many times we inquire into places we shouldn't or don't really want to go.

Absolutely, couldn't agree with you more.

Except for you alluding that drug abuse is part of the "price for success". Just isn't, IMHO.

My conjecture was in response to TrueBeliever's comment

Originally posted by TrueBeliever
I know that there are hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of former longtime NFL players still alive, but you've got to admit this trend is getting disturbing.

[bold courtesy of myself]
and I stand by my opinion that it is steroid and recreational drug use that is influencing this "trend". I have no idea if this particular person used anything more than an occasional tylenol and certainly would not presume to say that I did.

[TrueBeliever]

I hadn't thought of the steroid issue, but that could very well be the cause of some of these deaths.

Just the other day, I was watching an ESPN "Sportscentury" about Mark Gastineau (I had no idea the guy was such a jacka$$) and apparently his steroid abuse would make Barry Bonds look like a recreational user.

I just assumed that the physical toll pro football takes on the body was causing it.

[Wandering Athol]

Originally posted by aaava
I have to agree that the first thought I had when I read this was 'ex-steroid' user.

An enlarged heart, liver problems--these are just a few of the symptoms caused by extended steroid use...

Let me tell you what else causes an enlarged heart: obesity.

http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/hea...out533083.html
MONDAY, June 5 (HealthDay News) -- Fifty percent of retired National Football League linemen have metabolic syndrome, and they are 50 percent more likely to have an enlarged heart than retired non-linemen, two new studies show.

That unhealthy combination puts the lineman at greater risk for heart disease, contend researchers from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. They presented their findings Monday at the American Society of Echocardiography annual scientific sessions, in Baltimore.

NFL linemen often weigh more than 300 pounds.

"When these players retire, they don't think about how big they are, their eating habits," explained researcher Dr. Lori Croft, associate director of the echocardiography lab at Mount Sinai Heart and an assistant professor of medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "This puts them more at risk for metabolic syndrome."

In the first study, researchers used heart ultrasound (echocardiography) to look at the hearts of 303 retired NFL players. They found that many of the linemen had enlarged hearts, while players of other positions didn't.

An enlarged heart is often a sign of heart disease, which can develop into heart failure.

"We found that 50 percent more linemen were likely to have an enlarged heart compared to their non-linemen counterparts," Croft said.

Why linemen are particularly susceptible to developing an enlarged heart is not clear. "There is something about linemen, the way they train or whether they have bigger BMIs (body mass index, a ratio of weight to height) that give them a 50 percent chance of having an enlarged heart," Croft said.

In the second study, the same researchers looked at the presence of metabolic syndrome in 382 retired NFL players. Metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol and high blood sugar.

"In the general population, there is about a 20 percent incidence of metabolic syndrome," Croft said. "In our cohort of retired NFL players, almost 51 percent of linemen had metabolic syndrome compared to non-linemen."

Among non-linemen, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was less than that seen among the general population, Croft noted.

Croft thinks these problems are the result of linemen not changing their lifestyle after retirement. These players continue to maintain their weight while not maintaining their previous level of physical activity, she said.

One expert thinks that increasing your weight to play a sport can lead to health problems later on.

"These studies underscore the fact that striving for success on the playing field sometimes ironically leads to worse overall health," said Dr. Byron K. Lee, an assistant professor of cardiology at the University of California, San Francisco. "A similar phenomenon has been also seen in sumo wrestlers."

These studies should not be interpreted as meaning that being a NFL lineman causes cardiovascular disease, Lee said. "The fact is that many former NFL linemen are overweight. This is not surprising after many years of being told to eat more and more because larger size, even due to fat, can be advantageous for linemen," he said.

"We already know that obesity is linked to most, if not all, of the outcomes found in this study. The bottom line, whether you are an NFL lineman or not, is to stay lean," Lee said.

Another expert thinks there is a message here for non-athletes, too.

"The message here is not that exercise, per se, is harmful," said Dr. David L. Katz, an associate professor of public health and director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine. "Rather, extremes tend to take a toll on the body."

Linemen are expected to attain extreme bulk, and that is more and more a combination of muscle and fat, Katz said. "A great mass of body muscle tends to increase the bulk of heart muscle, too. A thick heart has long been recognized as a risk factor for heart disease," he said.

"Like the rest of us, football players are increasingly subject to obesity," Katz said. "An excess of muscle-building may bulk up the heart, while an excess of fat sets one up for insulin resistance and diabetes when professional athleticism ceases. The combination is a lethal threat."

There are clearly implications here for the coaching and conditioning of professional athletes, Katz said. "One would hope the demands of the game, and demands of health, can be put into a better balance. For the rest of us, the message is that moderation tends to define the path toward optimal health."

---------------------------------------------

This, not steroids or drug use, IMO, is the prevailing reason, along with the black population being at a significantly higher risk for heart disease to begin with IIRC, why so many young ex-NFLers die "prematurely". I'm not saying steroids and drug use don't contribute; I'm just saying fat guys kick the bucket earlier than skinny guys on-average.

Here's an ESPN piece where you'll find:

- of the 130 NFL players born since 1955 who have died, 77 were so overweight that doctors would have classified them as obese

- 28% of all pro-football players born in the last century who qualified as obese died before their 50th birthday, compared with 13 percent who were less overweight.

- The average weight in the NFL has grown by 10 percent since 1985 to a current average of 248 pounds. The heaviest position, offensive tackle, went from 281 pounds two decades ago to 318 pounds. In fact, 56% of all NFL players are now categorized as obese.

For this last reason alone, I don't think I'm going out on a limb by predicting that the average lifespan of your "typical" NFL player is going to trend lower until either: 1) average weights of NFL players level off, or 2) medical science advances in this area.


Aside: the NFL's dirty secret concerning the "130 NFL players born since 1955 who have died" - nearly 20% have been sucides/homicides. By my loose estimates, that's about 4 times the national average (the suicide rate alone is about 6 times the national average according to http://www.gamesover.org/gonow/index.cfm ).

[aaava]

Originally posted by TrueBeliever
I know that there are hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of former longtime NFL players still alive, but you've got to admit this trend is getting disturbing.

Perhaps the NFLPA will start seeking more pension or health care funds for retirees?

Man, I think it's a travesty that the NFLPA has not focused on this issue more. Considering that the avg NFL career is less than 4 years, that most players don't get paid much more than the minimum, and that the *damage* of the NFL (never mind the fact that a good pct of the players in the 70s thru the 90s did 'roids, and the teams looked the other way), takes a serious toll on an athlete's body--that they haven't done more and that the owners haven't done more--to create a decent pension fund for ex-players.

With all the money tossed around these days, the fact that we read about so many ex-players working odd jobs and stuff, or in ill-health; well, IMO, that reflects poorly on the NFLPA. You can stick this right in their laps. If they demanded that each union member ponied up 6-7% of their gross salary into a pension fund that paid out so that the avg career of 4 years, paid a living wage, then a lot of players would end up okay in life. Yeah, I know. We are all working hard too, and we don't get any pension fund like that. But we're also not playing a violent game that can rip our tendons and ligaments apart either. And the owners and elite players are making out like bandits, while their teammates come and go.

It makes sense, IMO, for the NFLPA, to do one thing--force their members to pay a pct of their salary and bonus, perhaps a pct over 500K or something, to a pension fund. There's too many sick and broken down, and dying ex-players we keep reading about...