{"id":1890,"date":"2016-06-23T09:44:09","date_gmt":"2016-06-23T14:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/?p=1890"},"modified":"2016-06-23T15:22:07","modified_gmt":"2016-06-23T20:22:07","slug":"a-nightmare-roller-coaster-for-karageorges-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/?p=1890","title":{"rendered":"A Nightmare Roller-Coaster for Karageorge\u2019s Family"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Times recently published a\u00a0gut-wrenching story on the downward spiral and subsequent tragic end<\/a>\u00a0to a young athlete’s life. Kosta Karageorge wrestled and played football at Ohio State University. He reportedly suffered numerous concussions, in addition to an immeasurable number of sub-concussions.<\/p>\n

Karageorge committed suicide in November 2014. His body was found in a dumpster a few days later with a bullet wound to his head.<\/p>\n

\"Kosta\"<\/a><\/p>\n

According to reports, the coroner\u2019s office sent Karageorge\u2019s brain to an Ohio State University pathologist, Dr. Norman Lehman<\/a>, for further examination. Following an apparent examination, Dr. Norman publicly concluded that Karageorge \u201cdid not have CTE<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

When this report was released, I was suspect of the conclusion, especially in light of the fact that Dr. Lehman does not appear to have any expertise in the examination or diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases, including CTE. Instead, while admirable, his specialty appears to be geared towards \u201ccell cycle\u201d and cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the family\u2014or through the advice of others\u2014sought a second opinion.<\/p>\n

The godmother of CTE, Dr. Ann McKee<\/a>, analyzed Karageorge\u2019s brain and determined that he had a history of traumatic brain injuries (traces of microhemorrhaging in the prefrontal cortex<\/a>) and Stage 1 CTE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This was an explanation the Karageorges were desperately searching for: \u201cthey interpreted the report as an explanation for their son\u2019s erratic behavior,\u201d according to the New York Times<\/a>. Unfortunately, the Karageorges were forced to suffer through a roller-coaster of emotions before they received the results\u2014all of which could and should have been avoided had the appropriate person analyzed Karageorge\u2019s brain ab initio<\/em>.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n

Based on the reports, Karageorge\u2019s issues were multi-factorial, including a history of mental-health problems and sport-related traumatic brain injuries, which are often a recipe for disaster. But several important lessons can be learned from Karageorge\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

First<\/em>, athlete mental-health and well-being must be a primary focus on all campuses. Although the NCAA recently published its first \u201cMental Health Best Practices<\/a>,\u201d it is doubtful that a large percentage of member universities have actually implemented these programs. Of course, as history has shown<\/a>, this is expected when the NCAA\u2019s laissez-faire approach merely sounds in \u201crecommendations\u201d as opposed to mandates<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Second<\/em>, to avoid another botched CTE examination by a seemingly unqualified pathologist, the NCAA and member institutions should take affirmative action to implement a system whereby they coordinate with family members of the decedent and provide guidance\u2014or in the words of the NCAA, \u201crecommendations\u201d\u2014on the appropriate individual or institution that should evaluate a loved one\u2019s brain for CTE. This will ensure that another family is not subjected to a ricochet of emotions regarding the results of a CTE analysis, while also helping to advance the science<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And while numerous other lessons can be learned, Karageorge\u2019s death and early-stage diagnosis of CTE is yet another stark reminder that young athletes are being subjected to repetitive brain trauma and therefore stakeholders must take immediate action to reduce this needless trauma. That is why common-sense approaches like limiting contact practices and promoting flag football should be implemented post-haste.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The New York Times recently published a\u00a0gut-wrenching story on the downward spiral and subsequent tragic end\u00a0to a young athlete’s life. Kosta Karageorge wrestled and played football at Ohio State University. He reportedly suffered numerous concussions, in addition to an immeasurable number of sub-concussions. Karageorge committed suicide in November 2014. His body was found in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[545,538,240,29,16,539,88,32,546,537,126,544,547,112,540,541,543,62,477,542],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1890"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1890"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1893,"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1890\/revisions\/1893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}