NFL great Brett Favre said he is glad he does not have a son because he would be “leery” of letting him play football.
“In some respects, I’m almost glad I don’t have a son because of the pressures he would face. Also the physical toll that it could possibly take on him, not to mention if he never made it, he’s gonna be a failure in everyone’s eyes,” Favre said on Monday in an interview on the Today show. “But more the physical toll that it could take.”
Favre said he does not want to slam or knock the sport and wants to keep it in tact, perhaps with ways to ease some of the trauma, and said he was not sure if the hits he took while playing the game is solely responsible for his symptoms, including memory loss. He indicated he “assumed” they were, though.
“I’ve talked to several doctors, asking them about symptoms, and one of them is not being able to finish a sentence,” Favre said. “Or not remembering a word — a specific word. I’ve noticed lately, if there’s any symptom at all, that one being the one that shows the most.”
Favre said though he “can’t say for certain” if the hits he took on the field are contributing to his symptoms, “I would assume so, and I think most people would assume. But I’ve got to believe that after 20 years, and if you go back, I played four years in college and played every game and then in high school, the toll has got to be pretty high.”