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Morris Claiborne echoes comments by fellow former LSU DB Jamal Adams about willing to die on football field
By Andrew Olson
Published:
It turns out Jamal Adams isn’t the only former LSU defensive back who considers playing football literally a matter of life and death.
On the same day former Adams called the football field “the perfect place to die,” to the applause of fans attending a forum with commissioner Roger Goodell, another Tiger alumnus echoed his sentiments.
“A lot of people don’t believe me when I say this,” Claiborne told the New York Daily News. “But I would die out there on that football field. This is my life. This is what I do. I give it all. I would die out there.”
“If I was concussed that bad where they said you can’t go back out there or you’ll potentially lose your life, I gotta go,” he added. “I gotta go play. I gotta go play.”
Both former Tigers made their comments when asked about head injuries and the dangers of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE, for short) in ex-football players who suffered repeated hits to the head, even those who did not suffer concussions. CTE, which is linked to multiple suicides by former NFL players, is known to cause memory loss, confusion, impaired judgement, depression, and aggression.
Claiborne and Adams will be teammates this season with the New York Jets. Adams is entering his rookie season after being drafted No. 6 overall. Claiborne signed with the Jets in the offseason after spending the past five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys.
After these public comments, one suspects the Jets’ medical staff will be critical of what either player says in regards to any potential head injuries.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
