Seau’s Family Says NFL ‘Taking No Ownership For What They’ve Done’
It’s been well over two years since Hall of Fame linebacker and former Patriot Junior Seau took his own life by shooting himself in the chest at age 43. And for the first time since the 20-year veteran’s death, his family is speaking out.
Reporter Armen Keteyian will report on CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, on an episode of Showtime’s “60 Minutes Sports’’ set to air on the cable channel this week. The segment features extensive quotes from Seau’s son Tyler, his daughter Sydney and former wife Gina regarding Seau’s passing and the family’s refusal to accept a $4 million settlement from the NFL, a portion of the much bigger settlement the league reached with thousands of ex-players found to have also suffered CTE.
The Seaus are suing the NFL indepently, Tyler Seau told the show, because “the NFL is taking no ownership for what they’ve done. There’s no responsibility on their part. They’re basically giving you a number and (being) like ‘All right, there you go. We’re done.’’’
The episode, encapsulated by Yahoo! Sports’ columnist Dan Wetzel here, features several powerful remarks from both Tyler and Sydney about their father’s life after football, how he quickly became less and less like the charismatic, likeable guy he appeared to be during his playing days.
“I saw a man right before my eyes changing,’’ Tyler says. “He wasn’t that happy go-lucky guy anymore.’’
Seau was never diagnosed with a concussion during his playing career but that didn’t stop him from complaining that his head was “burning,’’ according to Gina. “When he would come home from games, he would go straight to the room. (He’d) lower the blinds, the blackout blinds.’’
The NFL didn’t participate in an on-camera interview for the episode.
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