By Sean Leahy, USA TODAY
The NFL is considering providing aid to help care for former players who are now suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease (also known as ALS), league spokesman Greg Aiello told the Boston Globe.
Kevin Turner, a fullback for the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles from 1992-1999, is at least the 14th player diagnosed with ALS, an incurable nerve disorder. The Globe reported that ex-NFL players are being diagnosed with the disorder at a rate eight times higher than the rest of the adult make population.
“Playing NFL football was a dream come true,” Turner told the Globe. “I just never thought in 20 years I would be fighting for my life.”
This week, HBO’s Real Sports unveiled that doctors found a potential link between athletes’ head injuries and ALS.
Aiello didn’t tell the Globe whether the league views a link between head injuries and ALS. He told the paper ALS “is obviously a very difficult disease and we want to help people wihtout respect to whatever the cause may be.”
The NFL is searching for more information about head injuries and increasing awareness about the effects among players. Last year, it strengthened rules for when players with head injuries can re-enter games.
Turner said he will join other NFL players in donating his brain and spinal cord to researchers pursuing information about head injuries after his death.
— Sean Leahy
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