# Another QB's son with a medical condition? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 28, 2003, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-qbs-son-with-a-medical-condition/171570 "2003-04-28T01:18:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Morrison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Morrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morrison)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-qbs-son-with-a-medical-condition/171570/1 "2003-04-28T01:18:56Z")
I know this thread is going to sound insensitive, but I don’t mean it to be. Today, Trent Dilfer’s five year old son died of heart disease. Doesn’t it seem that an abnormally large percent of NFL quarterback’s children suffer from birth defects/medical conditions? The ones I know off the top of my head are Jim Kelly, Boomer Esiason, Doug Flutie and now Trent Dilfer. Is there something here or am I just crazy? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-qbs-son-with-a-medical-condition/171570/2 "2003-04-28T01:51:08Z")
I don’t know if you’re crazy or not, but Trent Dilfer seems a very decent guy, and my heart goes out to him and his family. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-qbs-son-with-a-medical-condition/171570/3 "2003-04-28T02:04:44Z")
I remember a United Way commercial where Dan Marino was talking about his son’s autism. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-qbs-son-with-a-medical-condition/171570/4 "2003-04-28T02:15:21Z")
What about Jim Kelly’s son? I don’t remember anything about him and I used to follow the Bills back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-qbs-son-with-a-medical-condition/171570/5 "2003-04-28T03:23:43Z")
I think it happens more often in the general population than we perceive. For instance, I just recently found out that one of my professor’s children died at a young age and was profoundly mentally retarded. Also, the people who live two doors down from my family’s house have a daughter who’s about my age, yet suffers from severe cerebral palsy (I think, anyway). There’s a certain level of invisibility when it comes to people with extreme disabilities; it’s only when it happens to someone famous that it’s news. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-qbs-son-with-a-medical-condition/171570/6 "2003-04-28T03:35:31Z")
For the record, Kurt Warner’s adopted son is disabled too. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-qbs-son-with-a-medical-condition/171570/7 "2003-04-28T03:39:10Z")
Hundreds of men have been NFL quarterbacks in the last 10-20 years, so it’s not particularly remarkable, statistically speaking, if five or six of them have kids with bad medical problems. You’re talking about five or six children out of hundreds. You just hear about almost all of them because A) NFL quarterbacks are very famous athletes, even as pro athletes go, and B) Naturally, an athlete of such prominence as Jim Kelly or Doug Flutie will likely become at least a casual spokesman for sufferers of any disease his kids have, because he has a personal interest in it and can do a lot of good with his fame. ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-qbs-son-with-a-medical-condition/171570/8 "2003-04-28T04:36:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by xizor \* > \*\*I remember a United Way commercial where Dan Marino was talking about his son’s autism. \*\* I thought that was Doug Flutie that has an autistic son. Or do they both? ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-qbs-son-with-a-medical-condition/171570/9 "2003-04-28T18:21:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ElwoodCuse \* > \*\*I thought that was Doug Flutie that has an autistic son. Or do they both? \*\* [Both](http://www.autisminfo.com/Quarterbacks.htm) \* \*This article also has more examples of the “quarterback curse” from the OP