Twitter Announcement To Donate Brain And ‘Everything One Way Or Another’
Dale Earnhardt Jr. took to Twitter on Sunday to announce he will donate his brain and every other organ “one way or another” in a bid for the further research on concussions in the sport.
The 41-year-old race car driver from North Carolina said he would make the contribution to science after re-tweeting a Sports Illustrated story relating to head injuries. The article was about three former Raiders who have also pledged to donate their brains for research on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by multiple traumas to the brain.
The pledge from the former Raiders to donate their brains is in honor of a fallen teammate, Ken Stabler, who died July 2015 and was found to have CTE, a degenerative brain disease that has been tied to multiple blows to the head. Stabler played in the NFL through the 1970’s and into the mid-1980’s at a time when concussions and its long-term effects were overlooked. Stable died of cancer last year, but doctors discovered that he had suffered from Stage 3 CTE as well.
Some people were shocked by Earnhardt Jr.’s decision to donate his brain saying it was “a big commitment” but Earnhardt Jr. was having none of it and simply tweeted, “Why? What use is it to you at that point? I’m gonna donate mine.” He followed up by tweeting “I’m donating everything one way or another,” leaving no room for confusion about how the sports star feels about donating body parts for science or to save people’s lives.
Why? What use is it to you at that point? I'm gonna donate mine. https://t.co/cBMZ8yIQuA
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) March 27, 2016
I'm donating everything one way or another. https://t.co/DQlVYJmHDc
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) March 27, 2016
Earnhardt Jr. is currently NASCAR’s most popular driver and has suffered two concussions in 2012 which puts the issue of CTE close to his heart. The two concussions resulted in him missing two races which may be the reason he has decided to donate his brain for research. At the time of the head injuries, Earnhardt Jr. did not report the incidents but went into hiding for weeks saying he wasn’t in top shape, implying there is still stigma around head injuries and concussions especially in car racing.
Earnhardt Jr. was concerned about the effects of two consecutive concussions on his brain in such a short amount of time and went to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for their concussion program to learn more about the damage that had been done. Since suffering the two concussions so closely together Earnhardt Jr. has had his neurological functions tested and knows more research needs to be done. Two years later, NASCAR instituted mandatory baseline concussion testing for its drivers in 2014.
Most research surrounding head injuries and the concussions caused by them are focused on football players and hockey players leaving a gap in the effects of concussions on race car drivers. This is why Earnhardt Jr. pledge to donate his brain, as a race car driver is so important. The long-term effects of CTE on race car drivers need to be further explored.
Earnhardt Jr. is not the first race car driver to donate organs. Justin Wilson, an IndyCar driver, was killed during a race in 2015. His donated organs saved the lives of at least six people, but not a lot of research was performed in regards to CTE.
The current surge in athletes donating or pledging to donate their brains for concussion research is not only tied to football players and hockey players. Recently, retired soccer star Brandi Chastain has also pledged to donate her brain for concussion research. Earnhardt Jr. is, however, the first NASCAR driver to publicly announce that he will be donating his brain for concussion research. Hopefully, his tweet and commitment will encourage other drivers to do the same.
[Photo by George Tiedemann/Getty Images]
