Soccer Star Brandi Chastain Pledges To Donate Brain To Concussion Research
March 4, 2016
Brandi Chastain told her 9-year-old son, Jaden, on Monday morning that she intends to donate her brain to science to benefit concussion research.

"Mom, that's weird," Jaden said. "Don't you need your brain?"

Chastain - a two-time Olympic gold medalist who won the World Cup with the 1999 U.S. Women's National Soccer Team - explained to Jaden that her brain donation will happen "long after" she will be using it, and with the intention of helping others.

Chastain announced Wednesday that she will donate her brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works with brain researchers at Boston University, after her death.

Chastain met Concussion Legacy Foundation founder and former professional wrestler Chris Nowinski and Boston University researchers Ann McKee and Robert Cantu in March 2014 when they received an award from Santa Clara University's Institute of Sports Law and Ethics (ISLE). Chastain is a board member there.

Cantu and McKee at Boston University led research into chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the neurodegenerative disease linked to sub-concussive trauma in athletes and military members.

Chastain was inspired by the researchers' work and told her fellow ISLE board members she'd "like to change the rules of soccer and take heading out of youth soccer to protect our young players". By June 2014, Chastain had teamed up with the Concussion Legacy Foundation to launch an initiative called Safer Soccer that aims to reduce the practice of headers in youth soccer.

"It's not about taking headers out of soccer forever," Chastain told BuzzFeed News Tuesday. "It's about protecting the players when they're their most vulnerable so they can continue to play well into adulthood.

"There's so many skills that our kids will learn in the game if given a chance at longevity. I want as many kids playing soccer in their adult lives as possible."

Chastain was never diagnosed with a concussion during her career, though she recalls at least two instances that today she believes would have been diagnosed as mild concussions. "I've definitely headed the ball multiple times after the ball was punted very high. I never shied away from the ball and I definitely had my bell rung a few times."

Chastain's 1999 Women's World Cup teammates Michelle Akers and Cindy Parlow's careers were cut short in part due to concussions, but Chastain said she never discussed the issue with teammates. "It was absolutely never a conversation," Chastain said, pointing out the enormous gap in cultural awareness about the effects of concussions on long-term cognitive health between the late 1990s and today.

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Posted by Ken at 1:00 AM