- BADGER FOOTBALL FANS KNOW THE
NAME CHRIS BORLAND.
HIS AGGRESSIVE DEFENSIVE PLAY EARNED #44
A TROPHY CASE OF AWARDS.
BIG 10 FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR, CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF
THE YEAR, FIRST TEAM ALL AMERICAN, ALL OF WHICH CAUGHT
THE EYE OF THE PRO SCOUTS AND LANDED BORLAND IN THE NFL WITH
THE SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS, PULLING DOWN A $2.9 MILLION CONTRACT.
BUT AFTER PLAYING THROUGH WHAT HE BELIEVED WAS A CONCUSSION, HE
WALKED AWAY FROM THE GAME AND THE MILLIONS HE COULD HAVE MADE
PLAYING IT.
HE HAS BEEN PLAYING OFFENSE ON THE FRONT LINE EDUCATING THE
PUBLIC ABOUT THE DANGER OF HEAD INJURIES IN SPORTS.
THIS WEEK HE WROTE A PROFILE FOR TIME MAGAZINE OF THE PHYSICIAN
HE SAID MAY HAVE SAVED HIS LIFE.
NEUROPATHOLOGIST DR. ANN MCKEE, ALSO A UW-MADISON ALUM.
HE JOINS US BY PHONE FROM WEST POINT, NEW YORK.
THANKS FOR JOINING US.
- IT'S MY PLEASURE.
- IT'S A BIG WEEKEND IN PROFESSOR FOOTBALL BECAUSE THE
NFL DRAFT IS HAPPENING.
BEFORE WE TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU WROTE IN TIME MAGAZINE, LET'S GO
BACK FOUR YEARS TO JUST BEFORE YOU WERE DRAFTED.
AT THE TIME, HOW BIG WAS THAT MOMENT FOR YOU?
- IT WAS A THRILL.
YOU KNOW, I WAS SINGULARLY FOCUSED ON FULFILLING A DREAM.
AND IT WAS AN INTERESTING TIME FOR ME AS A PLAYER WHO HAD A LOT
OF SUCCESS IN COLLEGE, BUT WAS SMALLER AND HAD
A COUPLE OF SURGERIES.
SO DIDN'T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE I'D FALL.
WOUND UP IN A REALLY THRILLING WAY FALLING TO ONE OF THE BEST
TEAMS IN THE LEAGUE AT THE TIME, SAN FRANCISCO, AND DRAFT DAY FOR
ANYBODY WHO'S EXPERIENCED IT IS JUST UNFORGETTABLE.
- I WAS READING ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE WERE SAYING ABOUT YOU
BACK IN 2014, JUST BEFORE THE DRAFT.
PRO SCOUTS WERE SAYING STUFF LIKE, QUOTE, YOU TURN ON THE
FILM AND HE'S IN ON EVERYTHING.
SO THEY WERE EXCITED BY YOU NOT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, JUST BECAUSE
YOU'RE AN ATHLETE, BUT BECAUSE YOU WERE SO AGGRESSIVE.
FROM WHERE YOU SIT NOW, DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE
THAT PERSON?
- THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
IT'S HARD.
I HAVEN'T BEEN AROUND THE GAME REALLY IN OVER THREE YEARS.
I DID SHORTLY AFTER I WALKED AWAY ATTEND A SPRING GAME AT
OREGON STATE, AND AFTER A THREE-MONTH OR SO HIATUS AND
AFTER LOSING WEIGHT, WAS STANDING ON THE SIDELINES AND
COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT I DID IT AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL JUST FOUR
MONTHS PRIOR.
SO I'M REALLY FAR REMOVED FROM THAT LIFE AND FEEL LIKE THE LAST
THREE YEARS HAVE CHANGED ME IN A LOT OF WAYS.
SO SOMETIMES IT IS HARD TO SEE AN OLD GRAPHIC OR A PICTURE OF
MYSELF IN UNIFORM AND REALIZE THAT WAS ME JUST A SHORT TIME
AGO.
- SO WHAT CONVINCED YOU TO CHANGE AND WHO ROLE DID DR. ANN
MCKEE PLAY IN YOUR DECISION?
- WELL, I THINK THE FIRST THING WAS PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
I HAD TWO BAD DIAGNOSED CONCUSSIONS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL,
HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE AND YOU MENTIONED THE ONE IN THE INTRO
WITH THE 49ERS.
I WANTED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT I HAD EXPERIENCED AND WHAT
I WAS IN STORE FOR IF I WERE TO FULFILL MY GOALS IN THE LEAGUE.
SO I BEGAN LOOKING INTO IT AND FOUND OUT A LOT.
I WAS REALLY NAIVE TO THE INFORMATION THAT WAS AVAILABLE
WHILE I WAS IN COLLEGE.
AND THE MORE I LOOKED INTO IT AND COMPARED IT WITH MY
EXPERIENCE, MY GOALS, KNEW THAT I COULDN'T REALLY JUSTIFY A LONG
CAREER IN THE GAME.
AND DR. MCKEE'S WORK IS CENTRAL TO THAT EVALUATION.
SHE'S DONE AUTOPSIES ON OVER 200 FORMER NFL PLAYERS AT THIS
POINT, GETTING MORE AND MORE CONTROL BRAINS.
AND OF THAT SAMPLE, OVER 99% HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH CTE.
SO THAT WAS A SHOCK TO ME WHEN I READ ABOUT THAT INITIALLY.
GETTING TO KNOW DR. MCKEE PERSONALLY, AND JUST HOW MUCH
INTEGRITY SHE HAS WITH HER WORK, YOU KNOW, I HAVE A REALLY DEEP
UNDERSTANDING OF THE STRUGGLES.
SHE'S FROM WISCONSIN.
SHE'S A PACKERS FAN.
IT'S A HARD THING TO COME TO GRIPS WITH.
BUT SHE'S A LEADER.
SHE'S THE LEADER IN THE FIELD.
AND AN INSPIRATION.
- WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU HAVE FOR TODAY'S COLLEGE FOOTBALL
PLAYERS WHO ARE BEING DRAFTED BY NFL TEAMS THIS VERY WEEKEND?
- YOU KNOW, I THINK PROCEED WITH CAUTION.
I DON'T WANT TO TELL ANYBODY WHAT TO DO.
BUT THEY ARE PLAYING IN THE ERA OF INFORMATION AND CAN HAVE A
BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE RISKS.
AND NFL CONTRACTS AREN'T TBAIR RAN TEED.
THE NFL SETTLEMENT THAT CAME OUT LAST YEAR EXCLUDES ANYONE FROM
SUING THE LEAGUE FOR CTE SYMPTOMS FOR 65 YEARS.
SO HOLD ON TO YOUR MONEY AND BE SMART, BECAUSE EVEN IF YOU PLAY
FOR TEN YEARS, YOU HAVE A LIFE TO LIVE AFTER YOUR TIME IN THE
GAME.
- SO WHAT ABOUT FANS, THE FANS WHO CHEERED FOR YOU AT THE
UW-MADISON WHO STILL LOVE TO WATCH FOOTBALL?
YOU MENTIONED THAT YOUR DOCTOR, THAT YOU HONORED THIS WEEK,
WAS A FOOTBALL FAN.
WHAT'S YOUR MESSAGE FOR FANS WHO LOVE TO WATCH YOU AND STILL LOVE
TO WATCH?
- WELL, I DON'T WATCH FOOTBALL AND DR. MCKEE'S SHARED PUBLICLY
THAT SHE DOESN'T EITHER ANY MOMPLET AND THAT'S A RECENT
DEVELOPMENT FOR HER.
I EM EMPATHIZE WITH FANS.
I GREW UP SUCH A DIE HARD PACKERS AND WISCONSIN FAN.
THE DIFFERENCE FOR PLAYERS IS THAT THEY GO THROUGH THAT
CATHARSIS.
THEY PLAY AND THEY EXPERIENCE WHAT IT'S LIKE.
IF IT'S ALWAYS ROMANTICIZED, IT WOULD BE HARD TO COME TO GRIPS
WITH A LOT OF THIS INFORMATION.
SO I UNDERSTAND.
I UNDERSTAND FANS.
I DON'T CONDEMN ANYBODY WHO SUPPORTS THIS.
IT IS TRUE THAT FOOTBALL PLAYERS CAN BE INFORMED AND CHOOSE
WHETHER OR NOT TO PLAY.
SO I DISAGREE, BUT IN A CIVIL WAY.
- REAL QUICK BEFORE WE LET YOU GO, WHAT'S LIFE BEEN LIKE FOR
YOU AFTER YOU LEFT THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF FOOTBALL?
, YOU KNOW, WAS IT A GOOD DECISION FOR YOU?
- OH, IT WAS A GREAT DECISION FOR ME.
I MADE THIS DECISION CHIEFLY FOR PERSONAL HEALTH AND I THINK IT'S
THE BEST DECISION I COULD HAVE MADE FROM THAT STANDPOINT.
I DIDN'T ANTICIPATE IT BEING SUCH A STORY, BUT IT'S LED ME TO
REALLY, REALLY WONDERFUL THINGS.
MOST RECENTLY A STUDY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN WITH
RICHIE DAVIDSON, WHERE WE DID A MEDITATION PROGRAM WITH FORMER
NFL PLAYERS.
NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED THAT FOUR YEARS AGO THAT'S WHAT I'D
BE INVOLVED WITH.
BUT WHAT A THRILL TO WORK WITH THE LIKES OF DR. MCKEE AND
RICHIE.
- CHRIS BORLAND IS A FORMER LINEBACKER FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF
WISCONSIN-MADISON FOOTBALL TEAM.
HE WROTE AN ESSAY IN TIME MAGAZINE DEDICATED TO THE DOCTOR
WHO CONVINCED HIM TO LEAD THE SPORT.