Thesis StatementWhat do Jovan Belcher, Ray Esterling, and OJ Murdock have in common? They were all famous footballers who commented on the suicide. Each player had something called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. This is a condition where sufferers have suffered repeated blows to the head leading to concussions and eventually head trauma. In this research paper, we will look at the NFL data to see if they could have prevented CTE in these players if they had put player safety first. Featured Players Above in my thesis are the men I would like to highlight for you. According to USA Today, (Mihoces, 2013) Jovan Belcher loved playing sports, especially wrestling and football. He was drafted in 2009 with the Kansas City Chiefs and defied the odds by being a great defensive player. On December 1, 2012, he killed himself and his girlfriend (Mihoces, 2013). His mother is currently suing the Kansas City Chiefs for wrongful death due to the numerous concussions she suffered while on the football team (Skretta, 2014). Ray Easterling played for the Atlanta Falcons for many years and retired at the age of 35. At age 62, he committed suicide, an autopsy was completed, and CTE was found in his brain (Tierney, 2012). His family has also opened a case against the NFL for a wrongful death lawsuit as well. Last but not least was OJ Murdock. He also loved sports. He was a superstar player in high school and later in college he continued to play. However, OJ Murdock never played the NFL. He took his own life while sitting in the parking lot of Middleton High School (ESPN New York Associate Press, 2012). Each player was believed to have CTE and was committed...middle of the paper...had a brain disease http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/27/sports/football/ray-easterling -autopsy -find-signs-of-brain-disease-cte.html?_r=0ESPN New York Associated Press, 7/30/12O.J. Murdock dies apparently by suicide http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/8214355/police-tennessee-titans-player-oj-murdock-dies-apparent-suicide Jason La Canfora, 3 August , 2012 League could suspend players for helmet-to-helmet hits http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d81b6d381/article/league-could-suspend-players-for-helmettohelmet-hits Peter Berkes on August 8, 2013 NFL announces rule changes for 2013 season http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2013/8/8/4594316/nfl-rule-changes-2013 No author acknowledged, January 22, 2013 Former race driver designs racing helmet safer football http://www.examiner.com/article/former-race-car-driver-designs-safer-football-helmet