Greg Clark’s Death Tragic: Steve Young Reflects on CTE Diagnosis Among NFL Players
Greg Clark's untimely passing caused NFL people, including Steve Young, to worry about other athletes silently struggling with a health issue.
On Thursday, Young remembered Clark - a player of the San Francisco 49ers - who was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) at an advanced stage after his tragic suicide.
He told USA Today that Clark was a big personality and commendable athlete. Since the late NFL player was "bigger than life," his death became much more difficult to accept.
Clark died last year at the young age of 49 due to a gunshot wound. At that time, his family confirmed that the player's CTE symptoms had already been impacting his life.
"His recent suffering from CTE symptoms cannot extinguish the breadth and depth of his impact on us and others, and we are forever grateful for the time we have had with him," they said. "It is our hope that through further research, we can gain more knowledge surrounding CTE."
Clark became the 13th NFL player known to have CTE when they killed themselves, sparking concerns that other players might also do the same once they discover their diagnosis.
Because of the event, Young started looking for ways to help former players like Clark deal with the degenerative disease. He added that the former NFL star's death should be a reminder that football players need to create an environment where they can open up about their problems, especially since CTE can only be detected after a person's death.
Greg Clark Dealt With CTE Alone
Clark's wife, Carie, said that her late husband was hiding his issues with CTE. Unfortunately, it worsened his problems and put more pressure on his life.
In response to this, Young expressed his heartbreak to see how players suffer silently.
"We've got to be better. We've got to figure it out. It's on a lot of people's minds, a lot of players minds, how to create an environment where people can share vulnerabilities and fears that probably wouldn't ever be shared anywhere else," he went on.
Aside from Clark, Junior Seau was also diagnosed with CTE after claiming his own life by inflicting a gunshot wound to his chest in 2012. An autopsy was performed on him after his death, and the medical examiner found out he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
CTE has been a common health diagnosis among NFL players, and several athletes also got the same illness, including Terry Long, Paul Oliver, Mike Pyle, Art DeCarlo, Bill Bryant, Lew Carpenter, Joe Perry, and Scott Ross, among others.
