My sophomore year at the University of North Carolina was one of the few times in recent memory that the campus was literally jumping for most of the year. At a school long known for its powerhouse basketball team, the football team enjoyed what is arguably its greatest season in almost half a century. The Tar Heels went 11-1 and were ranked sixth in the final AP poll and fourth in the final coaches’ poll–their highest final rankings since the Charlie “Choo Choo Justice” era of the 1940s. Among the unsung heroes of that team was left tackle Ryan Hoffman. However, Hoffman has spent most of the last 16 years in a downward spiral, and suffers from serious cognitive problems that keep him from holding down a job. In a gut-wrenching story in this morning’s edition of The New York Times, Hoffman wonders if those problems are the result of numerous hits to the head during his college days.
Times columnist Juliet Macur tracked down Hoffman on the streets of Lakeland, Florida. He has been homeless for the last eight months, ever since leaving his boyhood home in frustration. He no longer has ID, so he can’t stay in a shelter. He spends most of his days panhandling for money to get food. It’s a long, long way from his days as “the epitome of an offensive lineman,” in the words of his position coach at Carolina, Eddie Williamson. He played every snap of that dream 1997 season.
However, by his senior year, he was already having disturbing thoughts–such as wanting to deck strangers. He also began putting his important items in plastic bags spaced apart around his bedroom. His sister, Kira, noticed this when he came to Chapel Hill for a visit. Hoffman’s explanation seems chilling in hindsight now–“It’s the only way I can mentally remember where things are.” He recalls having at least one concussion during his four years at Carolina. He thinks he may have had more, but didn’t let on about them for fear of losing his starting job. He may have shown signs of trouble as early as high school; he actually threw up on the bus on the way home from a particularly bruising game.
This would never happen today. After the NFL settled a lawsuit filed by over 5,000 players alleging that it wasn’t forthcoming about the dangers of hits to the head, it adopted a detailed protocol for handling suspected concussions. Most major colleges have followed suit. Carolina’s protocol states in no uncertain terms that a player who is even suspected of having a concussion is automatically ruled out for the remainder of the game. Anyone who has concussion symptoms cannot even practice until cleared to return by Carolina’s sports medicine department. Several high schools have also taken a more cautious line about concussions. Largely as a result, this past high school football season saw a number of games forfeited and seasons ended early because there simply weren’t enough healthy boys to field a team.
Hoffman went undrafted in 1998, and returned home to Florida. Since then, he has bounced from job to job, had numerous arrests, and battles addictions to alcohol and Valium. Since going on the streets in August, he has spent most nights sleeping in abandoned restaurants. He and his wife divorced in 2008, but his current girlfriend, Michelle Pettigrew, has opted to stay on the streets with him. He insists that he’s still in “tiptop physical shape” even though he is 100 pounds below his playing weight at Carolina. However, he openly admits that “something is wrong with me”–and football had something to do with it. Many other former college players who never made it to the pros have had similar experiences. Ramogi Huma, president of the recently formed National College Players’ Association, says that even if the NCAA paid out a settlement similar to the one the NFL paid out, it wouldn’t begin to be enough due to the sheer number of players affected.
Recently, Kira–now Kira Soto–got her hands on several reports about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disorder caused by repeated hits to the head. Most notably, it was diagnosed in Mike Webster, Terry Bradshaw’s longtime center, and in late Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry. When Kira read these reports, she noticed that many of the symptoms–including depression, memory loss, and problems with impulse control–dovetailed exactly with what her brother is suffering. While CTE can only be definitively diagnosed after a person’s death, Kira is convinced that her brother may have CTE, and her parents are also convinced that football has permanently ruined Hoffman.
When Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham read about Hoffman’s ordeal shortly after it went online on Thursday, he immediately set about finding a way to help. Hoffman told WCHL in Chapel Hill–the Tar Heels’ radio flagship–that he has asked the NCAA for permission to bring Hoffman come to Chapel Hill and be evaluated. The NCAA has adopted a number of rules to limit hits to the head in recent years. But it’ll be all for naught if it refuses to let Carolina help Hoffman. There’s also a crowdfunding effort underway to help Hoffman; click here to donate.
