Former Titans tight end Frank Wycheck fears he might have CTE
Former Tennessee Titans tight end Frank Wycheck told Nashville’s Fox-WZTV that he is certain he has chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the debilitating degenerative disease often linked to repetitive head trauma and found in many deceased NFL players over the past decade. The interview is believed to have been taped at least 10 days ago.
Wycheck spoke with ESPN about his fears after a lifetime of hits playing football.
“I worry about, I’m scared about the time if I actually get to that point where these guys [who have committed suicide] have snapped,” he said. “What has made them snap? And that is what I am scared of, that there is something that is going to come over me that is going to make me snap.
“I don’t think I am going to do it, but those guys you would never think in a million years would. And that’s the scary part about it. There is no one that can tell you really anything. It’s just, the damage is done.”
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There currently is no test for CTE for the living, as it can be detected only by postmortem autopsy. But given everything Wycheck has read on the subject and heard from former players and former teammates, his suspicions that he has CTE are strong. Wycheck told ESPN he believes he suffered 25 concussions in his football life, which started at age 5 and ended at 33 when he retired.
Since then Wycheck, 45, has suffered from depression, for which he takes medication, and even has missed time from his job as a co-host of “The Wake Up Zone” on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville because of symptoms related to his health. Wycheck also has had neck and back problems and admitted that he often has struggled to leave his house some days because of that depression.
“I’ve made commitments over the last five years that at the last minute I’ve cancelled; it’s just like some type of psychological thing for me,” he said to ESPN. “It’s hurt, and I’ve lost friendships over that. And that bothers me and makes me feel terrible and leads to another form of depression …
“It’s almost like there is a brick wall before you go out the door.”
Wycheck’s reasons for publicly voicing his concerns, he said, was not for sympathy but for enlightenment. He also said he wouldn’t change anything about his career but admitted that if he had a son that Wycheck would not allow him to play football until he was 12 years old.
“I don’t want this to be a pity party, ‘Oh poor Frank,'” he said. “I wouldn’t change anything in the world. I’ve had a blessed life, great opportunities to meet great people, raise my family and be able to take care of my family the way I could. I couldn’t do that without football. And it was the thing I had as a goal since I was 5 years old.”
The concern over the danger of concussions and head trauma from playing football has dramatically raised awareness over the past few years, and it’s to the point now where it’s impacting families’ decisions to allow their children to play youth football. Several former NFL players have come out and said they might not let their sons pick up the sport.
The NFL actually has finally started the trend in the right direction after years of denial and deflection about the possible link between head trauma, concussions and degenerative diseases such as CTE. Wycheck even said he felt that former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and medical advisor Elliot Pellman lied about what they knew about those connections when they were in the league. But with better safety and improved knowledge across the landscape, more people are better educated to make the proper choices.
Wycheck, one of the authors of the famous “Music City Miracle” play against the Buffalo Bills in the 1999 NFL playoffs, spent 11 years (155 games) in the NFL starting in 1993. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins, claimed by the Houston Oilers in 1995 and moved with the franchise in 1997 that later became the Titans in Nashville, where he finished his playing career.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
