Can Any Good Come from the NYC NFL Shootings?

In a three-page suicide note found in his wallet, former high school football player Shane Tamura re-opened a decades old controversy the NFL would rather be done with.  The $23B league admitted back in 2016 that there is a link between football and degenerative brain disorders like CTE but maintains it can’t be solely responsible for solving the sport’s concussion crisis.  We won’t know if Tamura, the gunman who opened fire at the NFL’s New York office building had CTE until an exhaustive autopsy is performed. Regardless, he clearly sought vengeance against the league for not doing enough to protect football players of all ages.

Who should be leading the charge to eradicate brain injury from contact sports like football?  The NFL can play a role, but is it fair to dump so much of the burden on a single organization despite their massive war chest?

But whose job is it to fix the problem?  We can’t blame any one individual or organization for brain injuries sustained in sports.

Extensive research and development need to be done to not only improve brain injury diagnostics. But also to find effective treatments for our athletes from pee wee football to NFL players, as well as everyone else who may get concussed from something as mundane as a slip and fall in the kitchen.  The problem is that venture capital and other major investors haven’t made brain injury enough of a priority in recent decades.  Investors are pursuing opportunities they believe will be the most lucrative.  Today that means many investment dollars are going to cancer research as well as to the development of medical AI tools and a handful of other areas.  Sadly, not much interest has been focused on concussions  and repetitive head injuries which could lead to bigger maladies such as CTE.

Millions of Americans each year, perhaps up to 7 million annually, suffer concussions. Parents worry about their children playing the sport they love because of the fear of brain injury.  Contact sports fans express concern about the possible cancellation of their sport because of safety issues.  While big-time investors may eschew brain injury innovations, the public is certainly and increasingly clamoring for them.

We hope no one else takes it upon themselves to take such drastic action as Tamura did.  Killing innocent people is never a good means to an end.  We do see Tamura’s actions, however, as a sign that the public wants more to be done regarding brain injury.  Silent for too long, the concussed want to see action.

Unfortunately, in many ways we are heading in the wrong direction.  The federal government is reducing necessary research. It will take the voices of the tens of millions impacted by brain injury to turn the tide.  We must demand investors and Big Pharma pay more attention and provide more funding for brain injury research.  Small investors can also make a big difference.  While contributions may be modest from individuals, enough small investors can add up to enough capital to get the wheels on brain research and development turning and moving forward.  It also shows big investors the market potential for concussion treatments.

Michael Wyand, DVM, PhD is the CEO and Director of Oxeia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.