With all the talks of concussion research and the long-term effects of football on the human body, this story might be the last thing the NFL wants to hear. Ex-Jaguar Russell Allen has officially retired from the NFL after an MRI shows he suffered a stroke and continued to play in a 2013 game.
According to Robert Klemko of the MMQB.com, a piece of Allen’s brain called the cerebellum had suffered the most from the stroke and was a dead piece of his brain. The cerebellum is the part of the brain that controls the body’s ability to walk, run and even crawl. We do not know the full function of the cerebellum, but doctors believe it plays a part in distinguishing happiness and fear to the rest of the brain.
At age 27, Allen’s career is over and his words should be a sentiment to all the players who think the NFL dream can’t end at any point on any routine play.
“It was strange because it was so routine,” Allen says. “We hit, I got off the block, no big deal. I felt something flash—like they say when you get your bell rung. I didn’t lose consciousness. I walked back to the huddle and finished the drive.”
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Allen never showed immediate signs of major injury during the game and only went to the trainer's room the next day after he complained of a headache throughout the night. Doctors told Allen he is lucky to have escaped the game with only the stroke and it could have been much worse. Allen must now adapt to life after football and we wish him all the luck in the world.
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