# Junior Seau commits suicide **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 2, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672 "2012-05-02T18:31:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/1 "2012-05-02T18:31:34Z")
[News 10 report](http://www.10news.com/news/30993007/detail.html). Wow, looks like his driving off the road last year might not have been an “accident” after all. Too bad. He was a great player. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/2 "2012-05-02T18:33:01Z")
Pretty shocking, gotta wonder if there was some brain damage (ala Dave Duerson) that brought this on. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/3 "2012-05-02T18:37:07Z")
Shocking and terrible. He was a great player and seemed like a decent guy to me. ---
**Author:** ![DadWagonDriver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@DadWagonDriver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DadWagonDriver)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/4 "2012-05-02T18:49:59Z")
I gasped audibly when I read your thread title. How sad. He was one of my favorite players, and it’s terrible that his life ended like this. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/5 "2012-05-02T18:54:28Z")
Is this really a surprise? Wasn’t there some previous history with suicide attempts? Sucks. Seemed like a decent guy. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/6 "2012-05-02T18:54:32Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Pretty shocking, gotta wonder if there was some brain damage (ala Dave Duerson) that brought this on. Considering he shot his chest I suspect his brain will be donated/studied. (Which is why Duerson shot his chest) ---
**Author:** ![TheBoltEater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheBoltEater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoltEater)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/7 "2012-05-02T19:00:30Z")
This is tough to take. Growing up in San Diego, you had two sports idols - Tony Gwynn and Junior Seau. Unbelievably, he is now the _eighth_ member of the 94/95 AFC Championship team to have died. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Take\_the\_cannoli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5e9695/32.png) [@Take\_the\_cannoli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Take_the_cannoli)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/8 "2012-05-02T19:05:32Z")
Sad news. RIP Junior. Here’s an article from Dec 2011: [Death Is Stalking The 1994 Chargers](http://deadspin.com/5867720/death-is-stalking-the-1994-chargers) Junior is the 8th member of that team to have already passed away. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/9 "2012-05-02T19:07:19Z")
> [@wmulax93](#): > > I gasped audibly when I read your thread title. So did I. ---
**Author:** ![dngnb8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@dngnb8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dngnb8)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/10 "2012-05-02T19:33:20Z")
> [@MadTheSwine](#): > > So did I. me2 ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/11 "2012-05-02T19:33:33Z")
Wow, I’m shocked. I always admired him as a Charger and, as a Patriots fan, was honored to have him play for us near the end of his career. How sad. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/12 "2012-05-02T19:40:21Z")
Passion like that cuts both ways. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/13 "2012-05-02T20:04:12Z")
That’s terrible. RIP Junior. ---
**Author:** ![mkecane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@mkecane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkecane)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/14 "2012-05-02T20:13:33Z")
> [@wmulax93](#): > > I gasped audibly when I read your thread title. I didn’t, but my eyes opened wide. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/15 "2012-05-02T22:34:44Z")
He was more than a great player. 12 time Pro-Bowler. How many of those are there? I hope his brain makes it to the Sports Legacy Institute at Boston University. Maybe they could answer some questions. [http://www.sportslegacy.org/](http://www.sportslegacy.org/) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/16 "2012-05-02T23:17:59Z")
> [@R.P.McMurphy](#): > > 12 time Pro-Bowler. How many of those are there? None, as of today. As a Trojan, I’m kinda bummed. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/17 "2012-05-03T00:17:26Z")
Did he have any sort of history with concussions or other head injuries during his (admittedly long) career? It seems like that might be a hot topic if so. ---
**Author:** ![Ennui](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ennui/32/3396_2.png) [@Ennui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ennui)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/18 "2012-05-03T00:28:24Z")
There’s a nice personal story about Seau from Saint’s backup center Eric Olsen posted on [ProFootballTalk](http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/05/02/saints-eric-olsen-offers-a-great-junior-seau-memory/). > [@](#): > > “When I was a frosh in HS Junior Seau worked the Jay Fiedler Football camp and at the end of one of the days he challenged anyone to a 1-on-1. Being one of the ‘big’ kids, I was volunteered by my buddies and went up in front of the whole camp to face this monster of a man. Shaking in my cleats, he gave me a wink before a coach gave the cadence. He let me pancake him. And he sold it too. I can’t even tell you how good I felt at that moment; it changed me forever. The whole camp cheered for me, a chubby kid that didn’t know if he even liked football. From then on I was addicted. All thanks to this 10-time all-pro that felt like making some snot-nosed kid’s day. Doesn’t seem like much but it meant a lot to me. Sorry for the essay just had to share. RIP Junior I’ll never forget what you did for me.” He was way too young to die. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/19 "2012-05-03T01:10:49Z")
[Marcellus Wiley gave a very moving tribute to Seau on ESPN.](http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7882750/former-nfl-linebacker-great-junior-seau-dies-43) Warning: this is hard to watch without tearing up. Even with what we’ve started to learn about the head trauma football can cause, this one’s a shock. It’s hard to reconcile this - and the evident suicide attempt a year and a half ago - with what we knew about him as a player. This is the first one of these deaths that makes me wonder what I’m doing when I watch football. I enjoy it very much and I don’t expect to quit watching it, but I also don’t want to watch guys beat their brains to jelly for my amusement. Even if you ignore any ethical issues there, it’s not fun to watch the game if you know that’s what is happening. > [@Ambivalid](#): > > Did he have any sort of history with concussions or other head injuries during his (admittedly long) career? It seems like that might be a hot topic if so. He was never diagnosed with one as far as I know. The really troubling thing here is that, while concussions are bad for your brain, the bigger problem for football players is the long-term impact of _sub-concussive_ hits. Those hits still carry a lot of kinetic energy, and sustaining thousands and thousands of them in practices and games in school and in the pros is bad news even if you never sustain a full concussion. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672/20 "2012-05-03T05:47:37Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] This is the first one of these deaths that makes me wonder what I’m doing when I watch football. I enjoy it very much and I don’t expect to quit watching it, but I also don’t want to watch guys beat their brains to jelly for my amusement. Even if you ignore any ethical issues there, it’s not fun to watch the game if you know that’s what is happening. [/QUOTE] Well said. I feel the same: can I keep watching and enjoying the NFL knowing what it may be doing to these guys long term? I don’t know the answer to that right now. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-seau-commits-suicide/620672.md?page=2)