Football's extremely important to me. iIt's my passion.
— Chris Borland
Folks who blithely disregard the benefits of football likely haven't played or are being intellectually dishonest. The game, perhaps more than any other, requires absolute dedication and teamwork. Yes, I ultimately quit, and if I ever have a son, he won't play, but I'll always cherish the lessons I learned from football.
The 49ers drafted me assuming I wanted to play more than one year. At the time, I did, too. Things changed. They didn't deserve to be undercut. And I didn't want that to happen.
I can't predict the future of football. I don't think it'll go the way of boxing because it's a team sport. It's built into our education systems, the flagship for a lot of universities' fundraising campaigns. So no, I don't think it'll go away.
I've thought about what I could accomplish in football, but when you read about Mike Webster and Dave Duerson and Ray Easterling, you read all these stories, and to be the type of player I want to be in football, I think I'd have to take on some risks that, as a person, I don't want to take on.
One thing that's important to understand is that it's believed that the pathology of CTE doesn't have to do with concussion so much as it has to do with the accumulation of sub-concussive hits. So every hit matters. If you're subject to 800 or 1,200 of these every year, it accumulates. It's like erosion.
I think I'm connected to this issue in some capacity, football and brain damage. So carving out a way to address it tactfully is important to me no matter what I go on to do.
My breadth of football experience, my injury history, and my all-or-nothing goal to become one of the best linebackers in the NFL, combined with all I'd been learning about the game's neurological effects on the brain, convinced me I'd be wise in choosing another career.
The host of 'Face The Nation,' Bob Schieffer, was an important figure in my childhood years. Every Sunday in the fall, he occupied my family's time after church and before the NFL pregame shows.
I think it's unfair to punish players for inherent faults in the game.
I think it actually is easier for players to abstain from watching than it is for people who haven't experienced it. I know a wide variety of former players that don't really follow football any more. They've kind of had that cathartic experience. They know what it is.
I just honestly want to do what's best for my health.
Dementia pugilistica was discovered in 1928... And we still have boxing. Football will continue.
I never thought my choice to leave the NFL would lead to 'Face the Nation.' When I first thought of quitting, I cringed at the notion of becoming a football safety advocate. I was making a personal decision; I never set out to influence others.
I think the one thing I can say is not to play through concussions. I think that's unwise.
Sports are my passion. They have been since I was a kid. So I think I'll be involved in sports in some capacity no matter what I do.
I just want to live a long healthy life, and I don't want to have any neurological diseases or die younger than I would otherwise.
I just thought to myself, 'What am I doing? Is this how I'm going to live my adult life, banging my head, especially with what I've learned and know about the dangers?'
I've got a wide variety of interests.
