Three Words. Twenty Years Too Late. But Do Them Right.

"CTE-related protections." Three words in a bullet point. You know what those three words cost? Ask Junior Seau's daughter. Ask Dave Duerson's son. Ask any lineman who played four years of college ball, never made a roster, and is now 44 years old forgetting where he parked his car. This isn't a policy debate to me. I've stood on sidelines. I've watched kids take hits that I knew — I knew in the moment — were wrong. And we sent them back in. Because the system rewarded that. Because nobody was watching. Because 'CTE-related protections' wasn't even a phrase yet. Now it's a bullet point in proposed legislation. That's progress. Barely. Here's what I need to know before I trust it: Who defines 'CTE-related'? Who funds the diagnosis? Who pays when a 22-year-old walks away from the game and the symptoms show up at 38? Because vague language in legislation is how institutions protect themselves — not the kids. The passage exists. I'm glad it exists. But a bullet point isn't a promise. What enforcement mechanism sits behind those three words?