Junior Seau commits suicide

[elnutsmalljaws]

Seau was one of the best Linebackers in recent memory. He spent the majority of his career with the Chargers and a real tragedy that he was found this morning of a self inflicted gunshot wound. How bad do things have to get to commit suicide? First to admit, I have thought about it with all my health issues but always found more reasons to keep fighting than to quit

[bigrod]

I always looked up to Seau on the field but what he did and others do every day I have zero respect for. What he did is selfish and no respect for his family and friends to take this way out. Real men deal with their problems head on and don't take the easy way out.

[SLP]

It is very likely he was battling serious depression. If so he wasn't being selfish or choosing to quit, but instead lost a horrible battle with a mental illness.

[elnutsmalljaws]

Dave Duerson played for the Bears committed suicide a couple of years ago. He feared he was going to get worse due to his head injuries he sustained while playing. I wonder if Junior had something like this going on. He was voted NFL Man of the Year but did some strange things later in his career. He played the game with reckless abandon. There is no telling how many concussions or other head injuries he sustained while playing.

I disagree that all suicides are where people take the easy way out. Depression is a powerful thing and can cause a perfectly rational person commit suicide. I know because I was at that point, had it planned and was within 15 mins of putting the plan in place before a phone call from my wife stopped the process. It had nothing to do with taking the easy way out but Depression and no hope that my health would improve and the future kidney, liver, respiratory and cancer issues that my Doctors say I will have pushed me to that point.

[DJD]

Years ago I would have said its an easy way out and for some it still is. Others have real mental illness and that clouds the judgement of an otherwise normal thinking person. I guess seeing a close friend or two deal with depression is what changed my mind. It's sad.
I always like Seau as well and this case is gonna really ramp up that lawsuit against the NFL. Sad his family has to go through this regardless of his reasons since the result is the same. Hope he at least had some financial smarts and had his family set to move on without him.

[mhall]

Seau was a beast and played football with the intensity that I love. He will be missed by many, his mother is lost right now.

Suicide is selfish, I don't totally understand it, maybe I never will...

[RoadToad]

My first thought was the same thing Elnut mentioned, about the head injuries. There have been a number of suicides of players suffering from Traumatic Encephalopathy, caused by repeated head injuries. Duerson's brain was analyzed and he showed signs of "moderately advanced" disease. I don't know if they're going examine Junior's or not; I hope so.

Something else to think about. Junior Seau is the EIGHTH player from the 1994 Super Bowl Champion San Diego Chargers team to die. The causes of death are different, but still, this is WEIRD:

-- In 1995, about five months after the Chargers lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl, linebacker David Griggs died in a car crash. He was 28.
-- In May 1996, running back Rodney Culver died in a plane crash. He was 26.
-- In July 1998, linebacker Doug Miller died after being struck by lightning while camping. He was 28.
-- In May 2008, center Curtis Whitley was found dead of a drug overdose. He was 39.
-- In October 2008, defensive end Chris Mims died of complications from an enlarged heart. He was 38.
-- In February 2011, defensive tackle Shawn Lee died of a heart attack. He was 44.
-- In December, linebacker Lew Bush died of a heart attack. He was 42.


Now Junior.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/03/sport/...html?hpt=hp_c1

[elnutsmalljaws]

Seau was a beast and played football with the intensity that I love. He will be missed by many, his mother is lost right now.

Suicide is selfish, I don't totally understand it, maybe I never will...

In some cases, I agree that suicide is selfish. In other cases I believe it is the end result of an illness. Depression is an illness and trust me when I say it can drive you to suicide. I know you are a Plant Manager of a Truss Manufacturer. On March 9, 2007 was my last day that I was a Plant Manager of an Aluminum Billet Manufacturer. My monthly budget was around $14 Million, 110 employees, 24/7/365 operation, then GONE. We are similar in our careers. Now imagine for the next 5 years, you are not a Plant Manager and you spend 1/3 of your time in a hospital room with a tv, a nurse or doctor on occasion and the only bright spot is when your wife comes to visit after she gets off work. You can't see your son because he is 8 yrs old and you have to be 14 to visit patients in isolation due to my staff infections. If you can survive that without getting depressed you are better than me