FOXBORO, Mass. — Two New England Patriots captains are appreciative that studies continue to be conducted on NFL player safety.
A recent study, by Boston University, found 110 of 111 former NFL players who donated their brains to research showed signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
Special teamer Matthew Slater and safety Devin McCourty both were asked about the study Wednesday when the Patriots reconvened at Gillette Stadium for training camp.
“It’s certainly been a hot-button topic over the last several years. I think that’s no mystery,” Slater said. “As a player, you’re definitely thankful that they’re starting to look into that, do the necessary research and hopefully get us to a better place when it comes to that.
“Being married to a pathologist, I know that there’s a lot I don’t know, and there’s a lot that we still have yet to learn. So, I’ll let her do the worrying about that, and I’ll just try to focus on playing football, understanding there are inherent risks of playing this game and understanding all the things involved with that. As I’ve said, I hope for players past, present, future that we can continue that research, continue to search for things and see where it gets us.”
McCourty noted that despite the findings, he and his teammates still elected to keep playing the game by reporting to camp.
“I think for all of us, the technology has showed we’re getting more and more research,” McCourty said. “I think the good thing for us as players is the NFL and NFLPA are finding ways to get all that information to us and making us knowledgeable of the situation. I think all of us decide to play football, so that’s why we’re back here in training camp, ready to go to compete for another year. It’s good to get that research and learn from it.”
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick stressed the importance of the research into player safety when asked about the study Wednesday.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
