Concussion Legacy Foundation Dr. Chris Nowinski on Husky Talk
35 min readProcyon Partners are one of the top 50th fastest growing financial services companies in the country. Go to their website at www.procyonpartners.net . This was a blockbuster episode you can’t miss. Our special guest is Founder and CEO Dr. Chris Nowinski of the Concussion Legacy Foundation in Boston. He authored the book Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis. Chris has appeared on television like Fox News and ESPN working to spread awareness of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE. He was a pioneer discovering the disease and, on the frontline, studying it to find treatments for those suffering with this debilitating condition. Laban Marsh and Licensed Mental Health Therapist Kelly Virkler Greene joined the show to talk with Chris about what the Foundation offers. Kelly shared her experiences with me over the last year, symptoms of CTE were displayed and the onset came fast. Laban discussed his own struggles and concern for how he will be in the future. He is organized and proactive about his mental health, along with having a strong support system. Laban is also donating his brain to the Foundation. Chris explained there is hope and people can come to the Foundation for a free evaluation. Their experts can tell which of the 4 stages of CTE you are at. There are several treatment options, and they work to find a doctor in your area to battle this disease. The helpline website is at http://concussionfoundaion.org/helpline and the foundation will contact you to offer support. Thank you, Chris and Kelly Virkler Greene, for coming on the show. Kelly always shows up when I am struggling, she is an angel. She is incredible and never gives up on me. Please share this episode to raise awareness of CTE.
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Hello and welcome to Hosah I am your host the best podcast Host in the univers Steve Cully and with Me today my normal charismatic enigmatic Guest host co-host cohor laan Marsh laen Hello good to see you Steve also Kelly verkler Green joining us as a Licensed mental health counselor Kelly Hello Hello and the man himself Dr Chris Nowinsky the CEO of the concussion Legacy Foundation the Pioneer really of CTE and also an author he's been on Fox ABC NBC ESPN CBS you name it he's been Everywhere and he is trying to save all Of us especially the ones who played Football um from head injuries and here To educate us a little bit more about CTE Chris thank you so much for being With us yeah thanks for having me Steve Yeah so laan has had a little bit of a Relationship with you and I wanted to Ask laan about that you can kind of tell How that started and why you reached out Because we both have had symptoms that We've been dealing with and figuring out The best course of action of how to Treat them and how to move forward and How to live with them really as we get Older talk about that so I originally Reached out to Chris after reading his Book head games uh and I was led to that Book uh through another Dr beneo malo's
Book um and and it the connection really Was we knew him as Mr Harvard from the W Or Mr Havard from the WWE I went to School in the New England area so I'm Familiar with the Boston accent um and We had a friend that I ran track with Lissa Bloom whose brother Matt Bloom uh Was Prince Albert in the WWE and so I Know to uh try to gather associations And so when I reached out to Chris I Said hey I have a little bit of a Connection through this is there any way You know I can just stay in touch and That was 2009 when I joined Boston University's study of encylopaedia That paranoia that insecurity I I Appreciate that I think he understands What we've been through to where he Tries to empathize and provide that Opportunity to kind of just let it all Out if you will and so I am just Thrilled that after 15 years of delaying Gratification I get to officially meet You and uh hear a little bit more about What you're doing and and then finally If we can get it going you can see in my Background uh University of Connecticut I but what you've done with the con uh The concussion Legacy Foundation I know You've got one there a helpline at Boston College and so we would love to Be able to offer our fellow teammates uh Classmates and future Yukon Huskies an Outlet uh if they're having challenges
Due to head trauma so thanks for being Here and and tell us a little more about What you're Doing yeah yeah no thanks for having me And it is great to connect after all These years trying to adjust my lighting It's it's that time of day where I get Bad light in my office um so yeah you Know it's been yeah gosh almost almost Uh 18 years now with the foundation Trying to figure out what's happening to Us X football players and I think at This point what we know is that you know You know 15 years ago people didn't Believe CT was a real disease they Didn't know what it what it was now we Know it is now we know that some Percentage of us who took thousands of Hits to the Head will get a disease that Causes neurod degeneration and what has Become more clear is that you what is Very strongly correlated is an older age When you're talking 50s 60s 70s if you Have a progressive cognitive decline um And you know you played at least five Years with probably double figures um There's a good chance or you know Reasonable chance you could have CTE but Also prior to that we're finding out a Lot of people tend to have interesting Troubling your know neuros psychiatric Symptoms and I think what the science Would say today is that we can't tell Very accurately who is developing these
Symptoms because CT is affecting parts Of their brain who was developing these Symptoms because they might have had you Know a bunch of concussions along the Way and traumatic brain injuries can Open a door to to mental health issues And then who's just having them Organically and the the answer to that Really doesn't matter in the sense that For all of them treatment is going to be Very similar and you need to get it and It does work And so we spent a lot of our time trying To help people through the tough times Saying look you know the storyline of CT Is what we hear about is is the worst of The worst stories and the suicides and The midlife stuff but the reality of is Most cases are people who do fine most Of their life maybe some odd behaviors Is you're here and there you know maybe The families will say they had a short Fuse and they were you know they could Have been nicer but they're still they Were still you know good people um and Then things start to get worse like many Other diseases so um so when I'm talking Ex-athletes it's really about hey um we Can get through this and we're working On it while we try to develop better way You ways to diagnose this in life ways To treat this um so that we can all get Through it together yeah Chris so really This past year like I I had played
Football I played since I was nine years Old I played at Yukon I played Professionally and I felt this past year It kind of hit me all at once I started Having symptoms of memory loss I started Having mood swings I started having some Aggression and Kelly basically was my Lifeline and she kind of witnessed this Progress over the year and that's what She saw and I wanted her to kind of tell You about that in the treatment that Goes into it that could help me to get Past it and move forward in my life I think that's where I come in so I'm Obviously um an advocate for Stephen um Here today as I've seen Him most days out of the past year um And I will Say Okay Um the changes have been pretty Drastic um I think the largest concern Was the memory loss um repetition of Stories repetition of facts having to Remind him um constantly of things that Maybe just five months ago um had just Been said and this was picked up by his Family this was picked up by his friends Other people saw it I think I was on the Front lines a little bit more often than Them um so when it comes to the severe Mood swings uh the random bursts of Rage um intense irritability Um sometimes this Juck and hide like Which version am I going to get and when
Is it going to change Um from my background I immediately was Like we need to get you into see a Neuropsychologist we need testing we Need assessment you need a therapist and Um he reluctantly agreed and talked to Quite a few people um and even me I'm Not his therapist but I was thinking This has got to be bipolar disorder this Has got to be some form of a mood Disorder but then there were Unfortunately there were um there was a Almost a psychotic break that also Happened that was very Significant um and up to St if he wishes To talk a little bit more about that I Think it's pretty personal But um at that point I realized this is Beyond mental health and I'm curious to Know when you I've heard you talk on YouTube about different types of Treatment and you did mention mental Health you know therapy and that's Definitely important and I'd like to Know if there's any modalities in Particular besides just CBT um you know Evidence-based kind of the main route That most clinicians take is there Anything else that you you would Recommend that's for a whole another Component of this but getting back to Stephen that was really you know for me When things started to worsen violence Increased
Um he was just all over the place and he Did go to see a neurosurgeon he had an MRI um you know I feel like a lot of the Times he was really brushed off is hey You're a football player you got bumped In the head what do you Expect and then we would just sit there Twiddling our thumbs and saying but what Do we do because this Behavior can't Continue he can't keep a job he's Getting into accidents he's constantly Falling and hitting his head repeatedly Um it just escalated and I I think we're And his parents are at a point where we Need help and I know he's willing to not In his brain and sign up to get whatever Help that you would possibly suggest him To Get oh I appreciate you sharing all that And then Steve I'm sorry you been Through this um Yeah I mean well this is sort of where The the helpline comes into action Because you I'm not a clinician and so I'm not going to advise any specific Treatments but really our job is to help Find people the right doctor for their Who they can believe in help quarterback Their care like I've I've seen lots of People come back from this with the Right balance of medications with the Right you know I'm guessing you have Like a sleep disorder as well you know Ian it's sort of standard for the ex you
Know are you next lineman Steve you know It yeah you we can recognize each other So Um so like you know that is off like You'll you'll find if you can get that Under control you get a a very quick Cognitive boost and it might get back to Where you were it doesn't mean the CD is Not there or whatever else but the it Doesn't it doesn't get usually get you In your 30s like this it's usually other Things that are going on um so and and You live in Connecticut I'm in New York Right now but Sorry um I live in udica New York okay So I mean it's a dum so we have people So basically we have our yeah our Favorite people whether he's in his his 40s um so this is really hitting hard Say around like 41 42 and it's just it's I don't believe per other people's Reports that really presented Strongly um but you were also on a lot Of different medication um none that Have really worked out well for him yeah Okay all right well yeah I also Struggled I I had a drug addiction Problem and I went through that for a Year I went to rehab I got that taken Care of and I know sometime and that Happened after I was playing when I Played I wouldn't even take an aspirin But afterwards is when I developed the Issue for it and now it's more of like
Something will be said something will be Done and there'll be a complete Overreaction to it from me and I feel Almost like I lose control like it's an Outof body experience and I mistreat People and I'm Disrespectful and if you talk to my Mother my mother will tell you in high School I was the nicest kid I was Friendly everyone loved me and then at Some point there was just this drastic Shift and change That happened and I don't want to be That person anymore because people don't Want to be around you you you lose your Friends you you lose a lot of people Because of those changes the people that Have stuck with me are the ones that Have been with me for 20 years that have Been my friends forever and they're just Friends with me because they've known me For that long but had they known this Version of me they wouldn't have been Friends with me so I was just looking For an Avenue of treatment and an Avenue Of Hope is mental health Therapy a good way to go uh CBT I I've Heard of brain mapping different things Like that are all those effective Methods or things you can try to see if They make a difference or medication Based is also Effective yeah I mean I think we're Going talking about multiple things
Right so like your mental health Counseling is always going to be helpful But it just may not do everything by Itself and you know Kelly mentioned you Know evidence-based therapy so cognitive Behavioral therapy is brain mapping is Not so there'll be certain things that You don't want to waste necessarily your Time or money on until you try the Things that are more likely to succeed And again quarterback by someone who is Treating people like you and so we have Those people in New York and in Boston And so we just sort of we get our helpl Line I have four people full-time who Just help out the people to reach out Every week to help quarterback their Care this morning they just asked me to Help with a you know former NFL players Reached out who um you know in his 70s Who just gave away ton of his fortune to You know because he's sort of lost the Ability to judge what's the scam or not After being told by people it was a scam You know so um so you know these things Happen all the time but we H yeah we'll We'll get the team working on you to get You someone you trust that will help you Sort of figure out which things to spend Your time on uh but yeah I mean again we Brought plenty of people back in their Early 40s and from places where they Thought things were going to get Better and lean I know you had a
Question for Chris about his job Specifically that you wanted to ask yeah I mean the biggest thing that I've Wondered for a while and um for me as I Read Dr Beno malo's book and then I read Your book I'm a you know a big believer The Earl Nightingale you become what you Think about and I I became so depressed Reading about basically my demise and so For you Like you're always so positive uh how do You speak on this on a daily basis and Still maintain a positive attitude and Not kind of get do you just separate the Work from the emotion I I I'm I'm just Really curious how you can continuously Do this and not put yourself into a more Depressive State knowing what you've Been through as we all have so how how Do you handle That um So I you know I mean the answer I don't Think I have a perfect answer as to you Know why I mean you know there's Certainly been times where this is this Is you know impacted me and you know we Deal with sad stories all the time and I You know you get it's little strange Sort of you know in the old days when we Were trying to get the brain Bank up and Running you know started this habit of Starting the day reading obituaries Figure out you know people to reach out To to start to build this momentum I
Don't have to do that anymore um because So many families reach out now they know What's happening but still I read them And I know what what's going on and um I Think from my perspective it's easier Because I don't have severe symptoms so Like for me I was able to Compartmentalize that uh when I was post Concuss and the reason I got into this Like that was a discret entity that Would get better and so that that was The narrative I would tell myself and And throughout this journey there have Been times where I thought I'm more Likely to have CT and more likely not to Based on studies I've been part of the The things that we learn along the way And I've realized as I've gotten older And I'm now you know 45 I also look at it from the Perspective of now that I've been doing This long enough and watching enough People pass away like I'm gonna die of Something sure and you know like Especially being an ex lineman all Things now learning about what we do to Our hearts by gaining all this weight And the training we do and all this Stuff like something's going to get me So um I don't like I don't obsess over CT because it's probably I'm more likely To die from a heart issues next time And so I sort of look at it that way Like you know what as long as I've got
What I've got I'm going to go try to use It useful and I pay attention you know And I try to you know take care of Myself as best I can and I've you know Basically stopped drinking and I've you Know lost weight I've still got a lot to Go but um uh yeah I just I I have the Ability to to deal with it and so I do And and I I have very supportive wife And and and all that's too that's very Helpful and and I was curious also Because I know at one point Uh with Boston University like they Asked for a blood sample and I know at One point you talked like are there any Indicators either genetically within the Blood that we're passing down Susceptibility like I how what do you Know on any of that is there any Correlation at all so what we know at This point is that there are no genes That predispose you to be a CTE in any Significant way there are genes that Will modify if you get it maybe how fast It will go how much it'll affect you and That's the case for every degenerate Disease so some genes will make it go Slower or Worse some gen make go faster But but what we believe with very high Confidence is that this is just an Environmentally caused disease you will Not get it if you don't get hit in the Head a locked or really hard um and so It is yeah we do focus on that that
Prevention but we are focused on blood We started a study called Bank CTE that We're recruiting uh former athletes to Where we're trying to bank blood with People brains to eventually be studied Together so we know who has it who Doesn't and we can look for the protein Signatures in the blood that will tell Us when people are younger if they have Because basically when you your brain is Generating the blood barrier is breaking Down brain are flowing through your Blood your bloodstream we can pick up Specific ratios that distinguish CT from Other diseases we'll have something that We can actually then measure as we TR Try to treat Something does a Does age necessarily play a factor into It like if you hit a certain age will You have more symptoms than if you were Younger like a 28y old as opposed to a 40y old like for me you know I stopped Playing when I was 28 or 29 I really Didn't get symptoms until I was 40 so That's why I was curious about that Because I I thought I was fine and then All of a sudden it kind of hits you like A train Yeah so the CTE is is Progressive Basically like you get it at some point During your career or just after we Don't know sort of like the phase Between the hit that causes it and when
We can pick it up uh from a postmortem Review but um you know after you get it Age drives progression so the older you Get the more likely you are more have a More severe version of it you know There's four pathological stages um you Know we see stage three as early as and People in their 20s and there's only Four stages so it can progress quickly In some people but we also see people in Their 70s with stage one who we don't Think got hit in head much after their Youth and so some people are probably Gentically protected or or you know Lifestyle protected from having it Progress and be severe and other people Um are the other Way well and one other one other thing That I was interested about because in One of my exchanges with you I told you How in the '90s I wore a pro cap and you Said how'd that work because I had one With a normal helmet uh as a junior and Then I so my mom started making me wear A pro cap where the designer was from Erie Pennsylvania my hometown um and so I ended up wearing the pro cap for seven More concussions four more in high School three in college um and so and Now they make him wear that special cap Like I think Mike Tomlin I'm a western Pennsylvania guy but he requires his NFL Players to wear that and so I don't know If it was the money thing and rell's
Little warning that if you you know Change this helmet in any way it it Defaults but like what do you what is Your perspective on that newly uh Brought in the guardian caps because I Know you weren't thrilled about and we Know the science of the brain SLO so Talk a little bit about you know these I Don't want to call them gimmicks but Different things that people try to use To reduce concussion when We know it's more the physics of it than It is the any product what what are your Thoughts on that yeah I mean the the the Short answer is yeah we can get slightly Better with helmets or add-ons to reduce The energy that goes into the Brain the something like the guardian Camp you know the NFL has never Published their studies that where they They've made claims on a reduction they Haven't published those studies yet so We can't necessarily know how confident We should be in those results I think The NFL does like good headlines around Concussion reduction um but we can't you Know but that may necessarily be true Not you know until I see the studies I Have to sort of withhold judgment I Think and I think as a culture and and Then sort of the business side of this Is that we all want sort of Technological solutions to the problem But all the advances we're making in
Helmets are are nothing compared to what The advances we could make by like Hitting Less in practice or starting Later in life with tackle footb but Nobody wants to talk about that because There's no profit there it actually Could hurt profits so you know we we try To put the helmet discussion sort of in Its place where it's it's somewhere in The top 10 things we should focus on but It's not in the top three and we need to You know sort of think of it as you know When you're thinking about how do you Prevent death in automobile accidents You know the helmets are the bumpers Like there there's they're small piece Of the puzzle but they're not the Biggest thing your helmet's job rather Than protect you your helmet number one Job is to protect itself because helmets Aren't allowed to break so hard to think About that there's already an immediate Tradeoff um and so I wouldn't you know They don't put too much faith in your Helmets is my advice for current players Don't you know they there's only so much You can do within inter space in today's Technologies well but there were even People like I had different trainers That said it's G to make it worse Because you think you can hit harder and Of course everybody would would make fun Of me on the field and so one guy from Was covering me on a punt coverage is
Why do you wear that thing they make me CU I hit too hard like I don't know what To tell you you know but it is Interesting um because again I think you Do have those hey is this really gonna Help and I I'm a pretty firm believer if If you believe it it it can come true to A certain extent but then you get a Overconfident and Reality Bites um and That's where for me at 45 um who did start playing early in my First concussion was wrestling at six or Seven years old I banged my head on the Mat saw the Stars got nauseous and Didn't know so I know there has Something to do with when I got in my Accident last year I didn't hit my head At all but the Whiplash caused concussion so I never Didn't matter if I was wearing a helmet Or not the Whiplash was so impactful That I didn't lose Consciousness but I Knew a week later that I had suffered a Concussion so I I'm so much more aware Of the potential for concussion uh but Again I think who it affects whether It's two or 10 you don't know which one Is going to hit that the wrong synaps And your life changes forever um so uh Steve and the other thing Chris I really I've committed my you know brain to the To science so for somebody like Steve I If he's going to commit to that what are Things that you would recommend um you
Know through that the clf and what You're doing how can we help reach out To other people like right now Yukon our Our brothers are out on a golf Tournament for Yukon football and so it Was a great day for us to do this Because we've got somebody on the ground Talking to them about what we're Discussing with you to try to gather in The troops and say hey guys if any of You and we know a number of us are Having troubles what can we do to reach Out and and just find some Help Yeah well yeah I mean I think you Know when we talk about Steve it'll be The help L it'll be like what studies Can we get him into that we get him some Free free tests and you know we've got Lot what's great now is a lot more Doctors believe in this and care about It and want to help so what I would Suggest for you con is you mentioned you Know Boston College so the BC football Brotherhood reached out to us because They lost one of their guys to what they Thought was CTE and they said we don't Want this happen again what can we do And we said well we have this help line But not everyone knows about it and you Guys have the information for all the Guys who are at risk and so they started Blasting out you know to that group hey This is a free service um and one of one Of the guys even sort of backstopping it
For emergencies with some funding um but Here's something where you can get help And get advice and find community and Find support groups and we have peer Support we have all these levels to sort Of that we've learned over the years are Helpful to folks and so um we just got The University of Florida actually sent It to all of their ex-athletes uh Through the athletic director's office Which was wonderful and so we're just Trying to continue to sort of get these Wins of getting the helpl line out to Those who need it so I think it would be Wonderful if you guys helped spearhead That Yukon whether it's you know Officially through the athletic Director's office although sometimes They're you know they aren't as helpful And it all comes down to a lot of Different things including what their Lawyers say but also whatever alumni Groups are there to say hey look you Know we let's remember the really good Things about being on this team which Was it creates these bonds for life but Then let's step up and actually do this It's more than just you know Drinking Buddies it's looking out for those who Are struggling um who didn't you know Have it as good as we do I mean I you Know I remember guys I beat up you know Younger guys than me that I beat up on The practice squad you know uh because
You know you just did it now I would now I feel bad and I've contributed to some Of their you know issues that could come Along so great um so yeah so leaning on That if we get a Yukon focused helpl Line going that would be great and then Each spring what we do the race to NCT Is that we pull together alumni teams to Raise awareness of those we've lost or Those who are struggling and try to Raise money and also again use use that To promote the helpline and look you Know calling those guys you haven't Heard from you don't know how they're Doing you know like all this Conversation for me like I have you know Half a dozen teammates of mine there Weren't that many in our in our class Have reached out you know at my age Asking for help and that's great because These are guys I respect because I was Out there you know bleeding with them Every day for for years and so I do want To help them and I think um so I I think Lean in on that I think it's great that You're doing this today Steve I think It's awesome that you're sharing your Story so that people will do the same And realize that they're not alone in This fight and and and also to realize That they can get help and so um yeah I Mean I I think this is an awesome Connection and I really hope we can Build this from yeah and Chris I think
And and I mean to interrupt you Steve having a support group has been The difference for me like having Cali Has been a Lifeline to me whenever I go Off the rails she's one of the people Who can calmly talk to me and bring me Back to reality when I do lose control And I think some having people like that In your life because not everyone does Not everyone does some people have to go At it alone and having someone there for You to look out for your best interests Is very very Important yeah Dr Dr to interrupt really Quick you've mentioned that this Lifeline uh quite a few times and I Don't know too much about It when someone calls this Lifeline what Essentially happens so yeah we actually We have a call for those in need it we Try to do as much of an intake online Yes so we go to you go to celine. org You fill out the form saying you know Here's my symptoms here's what I've Tried you know here's here's where I Live um here's my exposure history my Concussion history my sports history and And here's what I'm looking for and then The you know the team you remember sit Down they look review it together and Figure out you know okay so we have this Doctor we know that's 20 minutes away And this doctor we know that's an hour Away and here's a you know a
Supplemental support if you're looking For something else and then here's the Support group for your needs that meets Monthly that you can join and and so and We come back to you and here's some Educational materials about what's Really happening what do we know like if You're worried about SE Wonder might be Misattributing like postconcussion Syndrome to it we want to make sure we Explain that to you and so yeah so we so Basically consider us like a we we're Referring to vetted folks that we know Or we'll find somebody in your area and Then track you know how much you like Them so we can refer them to the next Person and we and we basically set it up So that we're sending digital check-ins Very common frequently too you know it's Not a one stop you know one one meeting Is not going to fix this and so we Continue to say no use us as a resource If the first actur in work will'll find You another one if your symptoms have Changed let's attack those and so we try To build a long-term relationship to Getting you better helping you come to a Community where you realize that you Know there's others like you and that we Have success stories well uh Chris thank You thank you I know you're very busy Thank you so much for giving us your Time today and giving us really some Answers and honestly some hope and
That's really what we needed we really Appreciate it and uh thank you for Coming on our show this is Husky talk Dr Chris Nowitzki we appreciate your time All right thanks guys great talk to you All and and do Steve be in touch Directly so we can get set up with the Hel line all right I will I will thank You so much thank you all right take Care guys Bye Outstanding wow wow yeah that was great Well you got to make sure you give the Proper sign off brother Oh this but you know and I I was going To mention to him um I think especially Now Steve with your connection with Phil Hunt who is my big brother and him Finding his way into that President's Office and it was funny that Chris says You're gonna want an attorney I'm like Well Phil's an attorney uh but Phil will Spearhead this for the University and For not only football players but like Florida did with every sport I mean we Were fortunate enough at Yukon to have Such a tight bond with every sport um But I had no idea that they could offer The different testing and I'm sure like A lot of us even in the Pro game they Get out and financially they're Struggling and so they don't want to Reach out because they they might not be Able to afford it or they don't have
Insurance and so just to give an outlet A resource is uh is gonna be outstanding Brother I I hey I appreciate You' Sharing Steve man I know uh I know That's not easy but I also know we have Like you said there is hope uh for not Only your future all of our future and I Think the best part is that you were the Reason um that we're all coming together Um you know you starting this husky talk It has been a pleasure uh for me that Just wanted to be a guest one day and Yet you're the salesman you are to where You know have a a handful of uh podcast Co-hosts under the Husky talk umbrella And in a very short period of time You've built a brand that quite honestly And I'm sure you're getting attention From all these past players and athletes That want to be a part of it just like I Did uh because it's exciting and I think The the older you get you start to Appreciate the people especially that uh You went through battle with that yeah You lose touch but man we have to Rekindle that and make sure we're there For each other um and so I appreciate You know your Vulnerability um you know I I I Know this is a serious conversation a Serious issue and that's why and I think That's why Chris was willing to do this Um he really is big time but he's seen It so much um and I'm thankful that he
Doesn't seem to have a lot of the same Symptoms you or I deal with and and good For him but I also want guys that might Not have the same symptoms we do to Still join and be willing to donate Their brain because they are as Important like I If if you played Football and haven't had suffering uh Symptoms we need your brain as well Because I need to know they need to see What things are different from those of Us that that have the towel proteins and All this other stuff so uh thank you Brother go I have to get to work so I Just wanted to say goodbye before I run Out of here but it was nice being on With you yes it was great being on with You thank you so much Kelly and thank You for being my man's Soldier there to The side we need more people like you so Thank you for your willingness and for Your compassion Yeah well I have to say that was that Was a great show proon partners are Sponsor um they are a boutique Financial Services firm they specialize in Employee benefits um wealth Management and retirement planning uh President Shan robinowitz is a proud Sponsor of husky talk and we appreciate His support and everything he's done and It was important uh you know that was Part of being able to get this episode Done so I appreciate that and I
Appreciate you laben putting this all Together being buddies with Chris and uh I I think this episode Will make a big difference I I hope it Gives hope to a lot of our brothers and Even our sisters because you know uh I've got three female pole volters that Have all had concussion from pole vaing Um and I pray and hope this it's the Only one they have uh but at the same Time it's not just football it's it's a Number of instances and so the more Educated we can become the better we can Help others so thank you for your again Putting this all together and it's it's Not the grades you make it's the hands You shake but when you strike a cord With brothers and especially Brothers in Need I think that's the best part about Chris is that he recognizes his role and His platform uh and it was a pleasure to Be with him always a pleasure to be with You brother yeah so we'll we'll talk to The guys at the golf tournament for sure And make sure we get some people signed Up I think that'll be huge and um I I Would go to Boston and get evaluated I I Think that's the way to go I I think it Would you're close enough to go see what They're doing and like I said I I should It's been 15 years years uh and I did The interviews for five years straight And I don't you know I don't know what It's all about but I know they're making
Progress uh and I certainly appreciate Uh Chris and all he's doing and all the Doctors Dr amaki Dr kantu Dr omalu uh Because what they're doing is Controversial uh and they're going up Against big business and and all they're Trying to do is protect young people you Know they're trying to do what's best Yeah yeah so yeah they're really thank You great job brother I was looking Forward to this one and we'll do many More but man hey and the other thing is When you said we wouldn't be able to get Him you know my brother and I used to Say the greatest thing in life is doing Things others tell you I exactly exactly I called you out and you put me in my Place so you you win that one you win That one hey man it's all for the the Betterment of of uh the fellow man so You are a brother to me and if you ever Need anything you know to reach out but Uh I love doing these with you so let's Keep it going let's keep growing the uh The audience and growing building on Them and I can't help but be competitive To where whatever Boston College in Florida I know that's a maybe a bad game To play but if we can get more people in The registry I think I think Phil would Be open to it I mean I I would love to Be the the largest university or the Largest number of participants out of New England is the University of
Connecticut so that uh the mind going to Make a difference it's going to make a Big difference and maybe not for our Kids but maybe our grandkids and so um a Lot of this it just takes time and and Samples it's just like the rule of 10,000 hours the more you do the better You get and uh so I I appreciate your Willingness to do that I know it's I Mean donating your brain and brain stab For science organ I'm already dead I Don't care about that and that's what He's right that's but even Chris's Point Like we're all gonna die of something Both of us have been in car accidents That very easily could have taken our Life and so I'm not going to let the CTE Or potential CTE in me slow me down but Understanding some of the challenges is Half the battle I mean that right Understanding that so thank you brother I I appreciate you this morning I'm Looking forward to uh getting you better Getting us all better and just staying Healthy and hopeful and you got to come To the lake just say I will yes I will Be up there before the end of the summer I promise and ask please ask Megan if She can get me any other teammates that I can have on the show I gotta get I got To get more women scheduled yes so Listen she told me it was the end of a She said August 31st it's actually July 31st so she's taking my kids up on
Wednesday next Wednesday up to the Lakehouse for in the ader X and she's Going to Boston for I should have her Take uh portable to interview some of The girls but they're all getting Together for a Girls reunion maybe we Should crash see if see if they'll let Us we should we should just crash it let Us it's just like uh I would absolutely Do that yeah maybe maybe I'll pick you Up on the way I'm right on the way dude Don't tell anybody all right this is I Would either do that I would either do That or I would take I would have you Pick me up and we go up north do either Or we might have to do that let me see If you have time and you want to do that I'll do either H oh man that would be great to crash The Yukon field hockey reunion party and Credit to them they they get together Not every year but pretty frequently and That's what I'm saying like the track Guys get together uh every once in a While not as frequently but we got to Get the football guys together and uh I Know they're all golfing today but we I Want to get them all together so we can Uh you know exchange contacts and stay In touch with everybody more regularly No that's exactly what Phil wants to do Phil wants to pick a game and do like a Tailgate with a live husky talk and he's Really doing a lot to try to promote the
Show and he wants us to you know be part Of the Yukon athletic website so yeah I Think talk there I mean well and and you Get that CF helpline there and it's a One-Stop shop for Yukon athletes both For you know and that what what a great Way to preserve history with all of These stories and because that's where You're going to have to start going back To some of the old heads you really are Going to have to get into the guys Played In start knowing what the culture was Like and uh I mean that's and I think That's what gives that hope you know uh When you're having some dark days it's Like man I got too much to do I got People to talk to I got people to meet Uh there's no way I'm not going down Without a fight but uh having Brothers In your corner we all know is vital so Well been I've been doing what you've Been doing and using my calendar Religiously and that's been that's been A huge help that's been a huge help so Yeah I appreciate that and then I have Been trying to be busy and organized so I'm doing stuff every day yeah and There's no idle time and I think that That's made a huge difference so yeah Your your Insight and advice has been Very valuable good that's awesome well That's the whole thing is what works and What works for me might not work for
Somebody else but give it a try and and Just see but yeah man Life's Too Short Not to live it up but uh thank you again Man this was great for to the next one So sign us off as you do I will get this Edited and I can't wait to get it out And uh for My amazing co-host laan Marsh this has Been talk I am Steve Cully the best Podcast host in the universe remember When life gives you lemons don't make Lemonade take two oranges and throw them Back at life
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