Help keep Salon independent

Topic: CTE

Police respond to a shooting in Midtown Manhattan that left five dead, including the gunman, and one seriously injured. (JOHN LAMPARSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

MAGA media pins NYC shooting on Mamdani

Sophia Tesfaye
Police and others gather at a crime scene in midtown Manhattan after two people, including a police officer, were shot inside of an office building on July 28, 2025 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

NYC gunman targeted the NFL

Cheyenne McNeill
Josh Rivera as Aaron Hernandez in "American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez" (Courtesy of FX)

The rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez

Gabriella Ferrigine
Medium shot of a female doctor discussing diagnosis with elderly male patient and his female relative (Getty Images/EvgeniyShkolenko)

The head injury–dementia connection

Mary Elizabeth Williams
Advertisement:
George Visger (Photos courtesy of George Visger)

One NFL player's saga of survival

Irvin Muchnick
Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez (Netflix)

Aaron Hernandez's murderous mindset

Ashlie D. Stevens
Philadelphia Eagles' Destiny Vaeao hits Minnesota Vikings' Jerick McKinnon. (AP/Patrick Semansky)

Football is popular as ever, and dying

Matthew Rozsa
(Getty/Timothy Clary)

Concussions and CTE

Russell M. Bauer, Michael S. Jaffee - The Conversation
Advertisement:
Atlanta Falcons' Grady Jarrett sacks New England Patriots' Tom Brady. (AP/David J. Phillip)

Will the NFL embrace weed?

Taylor Link
(Getty/Timothy Clary)

The NFL and CTE

Matthew Rozsa
Cam Newton (AP/Joe Mahoney/Shutterstock/Salon)

Head Games: The $100M PR stunt

Steve Almond
(Columbia Pictures)

The NFL doomed itself

Andrew O'Hehir
Advertisement:
(AP/Tony Avelar)

Fox News' horrible comparison

Joanna Rothkopf
Roger Goodell speaks at a news conference to address domestic violence issues and the NFL's Personal Conduct Policy, in New York, September 19, 2014. (Reuters/Mike Segar)

"It gets really disgusting"

Elias Isquith
Ray Rice (AP/Nick Wass)

Football and the culture war

Andrew O'Hehir

Goodbye, football

Aaron Traister
Advertisement: