>But who these men have become is not who they are, and I write that with conviction. The symptoms they display are beyond their control and occur through no fault of their own. These men chose football, but they didn’t choose brain damage.

Completely true, and the previous generation of players rightly deserves compensation for being lied to by the NFL. They didn't know the devil's bargain they were striking. But the next generation? The ones who do now know?

Muhammand Ali was suffering from severe brain damage as early as 29, but kept boxing anyway because he was addicted to the fame and the glory. He'd come out of a match slurring his words and struggling to maintain a normal stride, yet would still deny any possibility of his brain being damaged by all the fighting. He was too tough, he was too fast, he was too macho. Until he wasn't, and then it was too late. This all coming after nearly a century of research showing the degenerative effects of boxing on the human mind.

Some jobs simply carry with them the understanding you are going to be "used up" by participating. Wrestlers, boxers, hockey players, and now footballers. Some men are willing to destroy themselves in pursuit of wealth and fame, and it's difficult to say it's our job as a society to overrule their choices about their own bodies.

However, I do think pop culture should try to stop downplaying the effects of this kind of stuff. Super heroes, for example, send the message to kids that you can engage in violence altercations for decades, and the only negative impacts will be physical (if they exist at all). I laughed out loud during TKDR when Batman's only injury from all his fighting is a bum knee and a few scars - his brain should be mush, are you kidding me?