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Mike Webster
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== Post-football life == Webster was proven to have been disabled before retiring from the NFL.<ref name=lawsuit /> After retirement, Webster had [[amnesia]], [[dementia]], [[Clinical depression|depression]], and acute bone and muscular pain. He lived out of his [[pickup truck]] or in [[train station]]s between [[Wisconsin]] and [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]], despite friends and former teammates offering to rent apartments for him. Teammate and fellow hall of famer [[Terry Bradshaw]] regularly covered expenses for Webster and his family, while Steelers owner [[Dan Rooney]] paid for a hotel room for Webster for over three months.<ref>[[Jeanne Marie Laksak]], Concussion (2015). {{ISBN|0812987578}}</ref> Nonetheless, Webster continued to disappear for weeks at a time without explanation and without contact with friends and family. He exhibited unusual changes in behavior, and became so agitated and restless that he used [[electroshock weapon]]s on himself to induce sleep.<ref>Laksak, 2015</ref> {{anchor|Garrett Webster}}In his last years Webster lived with his youngest son, Garrett, who though only a teenager at the time, moved from Wisconsin to Pittsburgh to care for his father. Webster's wife Pamela divorced him six months before his death in 2002, due to a [[heart attack]], at the age of 50.<ref name=autopsy>{{cite web |last=Frontline |title=The Autopsy That Changed Football |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sports/league-of-denial/the-autopsy-that-changed-football/ |publisher=PBS |access-date=October 9, 2013 |archive-date=October 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014220949/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sports/league-of-denial/the-autopsy-that-changed-football/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Litsky">Frank Litsky. "[https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/25/sports/mike-webster-50-dies-troubled-football-hall-of-famer.html Mike Webster, 50, Dies; Troubled Football Hall of Famer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211215926/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/25/sports/mike-webster-50-dies-troubled-football-hall-of-famer.html |date=February 11, 2017 }}". ''The New York Times'', September 25, 2002. Accessed December 26, 2015.</ref><ref name="denon">"Tyler Drenon. "[http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2013/10/8/4814434/concussion-suit-mike-webster-thing Mike Webster autopsy 'one of the most significant moments in the history of sports'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113044021/http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2013/10/8/4814434/concussion-suit-mike-webster-thing |date=January 13, 2016 }}". SB Nation, October 8, 2013.</ref> Webster was cremated and his ashes were returned to his wife and their five children, two sons and three daughters.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Garber |first=Greg |date=January 28, 2005 |title=Sifting through the ashes |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=1972289 |access-date=February 2, 2023 |work=ESPN.com}}</ref> === Illness === After death, Webster was diagnosed with [[chronic traumatic encephalopathy]] (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=3864644 |title=Researchers: Late NFL player had degenerative brain condition - ESPN<!-- Bot generated title --> |date=January 27, 2009 |access-date=June 22, 2009 |archive-date=February 20, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220124903/http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3864644 |url-status=live }}</ref> Webster was the first former NFL player diagnosed with CTE. Dr. [[Bennet Omalu]], a [[forensic pathology|forensic]] [[neuropathologist]], examined tissue from Webster and eight other NFL players and determined they all showed the kind of brain damage previously seen in people with [[Alzheimer's disease]] or [[dementia]], as well as in some retired boxers.<ref name="autopsy"/> Webster's brain resembled those of boxers with "dementia pugilistica", also known as "punch-drunk syndrome".<ref name="CTE"/><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Laskas|first=Jeanne Marie|title=Game Brain: Football Players and Concussions|url=https://www.gq.com/story/nfl-players-brain-dementia-study-memory-concussions|magazine=GQ|date=September 15, 2009|access-date=May 7, 2018|archive-date=November 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151111053002/http://www.gq.com/story/nfl-players-brain-dementia-study-memory-concussions|url-status=live}}</ref> Omalu's findings were largely ignored by the NFL until [[Cincinnati Bengals]] wide receiver [[Chris Henry (wide receiver)|Chris Henry]] was diagnosed with CTE shortly after his death at age 26 in 2009.<ref>[https://www.espn.com/espn/commentary/news/story?page=hoiward/100629 Chris Henry data sound football alarm], ESPN. com, Johnette Howard, June 29, 2010.</ref> Webster's son Garrett now serves as the administrator to the Brain Injury Research Institute in Pittsburgh, which is dedicated to encouraging individuals who have had head trauma to donate their brains after death as well as being an advocate to players who have similar conditions that his father had.<ref name="CTE"/> It has been speculated that Webster's ailments were due to wear and tear sustained over his playing career; some doctors estimated he had been in the equivalent of "25,000 automobile crashes" in over 25 years of playing football at the high school, college and professional levels. His wife Pamela stated years later that she felt that she caused Webster's change in personality in the years before his death and placed guilt on herself over her decision to divorce Webster, until discovering after his death about the CTE diagnosis.<ref name="CTE"/> Webster played during an era when protective equipment (especially helmets) was inferior, and head injuries were considered part of the game of football.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} At the time of his death, Webster was addicted to prescription medication.<ref name="Engber Concussion criticism">{{cite journal|last1=Engber|first1=Daniel|title=Concussion Lies|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2015/12/the_truth_about_will_smith_s_concussion_and_bennet_omalu.html|journal=Slate|date=December 21, 2015 |publisher=The Slate Group|access-date=December 26, 2015|archive-date=December 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151225174843/http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2015/12/the_truth_about_will_smith_s_concussion_and_bennet_omalu.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Nicknamed "Iron Mike", Webster's reputation for durability led him to play even through injuries. So strong was Webster that he was one of eight players that participated in a "Strongest Man in Football" competition that aired on CBS in 1980. While [[anabolic steroids]] were considered legal to use during the time of Webster's career, he never publicly stated that he ever used steroids.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ESPNMAG.com - Big Night |url=https://www.espn.com/magazine/vol6no03strongmen.html |access-date=2025-01-17 |website=www.espn.com}}</ref> His struggle with mental illness, as a result of CTE, at the end of his life was depicted in the 2015 film ''[[Concussion (2015 film)|Concussion]]''. Webster was portrayed by [[David Morse (actor)|David Morse]] and Dr. [[Bennet Omalu]] was portrayed by [[Will Smith]]. He is one of at least 345 [[List of NFL players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy|NFL players to be diagnosed after death]] with this disease, which is caused by repeated hits to the head.<ref>{{cite news |title=The driving force behind Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) |website=Concussion Legacy Foundation |url=https://concussionfoundation.org/cte-resources/subconcussive-impacts |access-date=July 2, 2023 |archive-date=July 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702123543/https://concussionfoundation.org/cte-resources/subconcussive-impacts |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Ken Belson and Benjamin Mueller |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/20/sports/football/cte-study-concussions-brain-tackle.html |title=Collective Force of Head Hits, Not Just the Number of Them, Increases Odds of C.T.E. The largest study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy to date found that the cumulative force of head hits absorbed by players in their careers is the best predictor of future brain disease. |work= [[The New York Times]] |date=June 20, 2023 |access-date=July 2, 2023 }}</ref> === Lawsuit === Webster's estate brought a lawsuit in Maryland's [[United States District Court]] against the [[National Football League]]. The estate contended that Webster was disabled at the time of his retirement, and was owed $1.142 million in disability payments under the NFL's retirement plan. On April 26, 2005, a federal judge ruled that the NFL benefits plan owed Webster's estate $1.18 million in benefits.<ref name=lawsuit>{{cite web|title=Webster v. NFL|url=https://www.espn.com/pdf/2012/1116/otl_webstercourt_ruling.pdf|publisher=ESPN|access-date=December 24, 2015|archive-date=December 7, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121207062328/http://espn.go.com/pdf/2012/1116/otl_webstercourt_ruling.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> With the addition of interest and fees, the amount was estimated to be over $1.60 million. The NFL appealed the ruling. On December 13, 2006, the [[U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit]] in [[Richmond, Virginia]] upheld the Baltimore federal judge's 2005 ruling that the league's retirement plan must pay benefits reserved for players whose disabilities began while they were playing football.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hack |first=Damon |date=December 14, 2006 |title=Former Steeler's Family Wins Disability Ruling |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/14/sports/football/14webster.html |access-date=December 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
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