Bo Jackson says if he knew then what he knows now about “this CTE stuff,” then he would have never played football at all.
Jackson, the only pro athlete to make it as an All-Star in baseball and a Pro Bowler in football, told USA Today Sports that, based on the information available today on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), he would have steered clear of football.
“If I knew back then what I know now, I would have never played football,” Jackson said, according to USA Today. “Never. I wish I had known about all of those head injuries, but no one knew that. And the people that did know that, they wouldn’t tell anybody.”
“The game has gotten so violent, so rough,” he said. “We’re so much more educated on this CTE stuff, there’s no way I would ever allow my kids to play football today.”
“Even though I love the sport, I’d smack them in the mouth if they said they wanted to play football,” Jackson said of his kids.
“I’d tell them, ‘Play baseball, basketball, soccer, golf, just anything but football,” he added.
Despite Jackson’s remarks, he says he “wouldn’t change a thing” about the way his career went and says he’s living with no regrets, according to Deadspin.
Even though Jackson was referring to issues with head trauma in today’s game of football, it wasn’t necessarily a head injury that ended his professional sports career.
It was, in fact, a hip injury that shortened his NFL and MLB careers.
In his illustrious career, Jackson quickly became both a “sports and cultural icon,” according to ABC News.
Jackson was awarded the Heisman Trophy at Auburn before going on to play football for the then-Los Angeles Raiders and baseball for the Kansas City Royals.
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