OP here. Yes, the athlete is deceased and had to be to receive the CTE diagnosis. No, the Australian player is not the same person.

Here's a different former D1 soccer player who believes she has CTE, but is still living and thus remains undiagnosed: https://www.newschannel5.com/news/former-college-soccer-player-said-concussions-ruined-her-life

OP you need to post a link to the article you’re referring to in order to have a meaningful discussion.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People have been arguing that there are actually more injuries and concussions in soccer than other sports for a little while now.

But assuming OP is talking about this person:
https://sports.yahoo.com/cte-diagnosed-in-professional-female-athlete-for-first-time-154706253.html

It looks like they also played other sports other than soccer, specifically rugby.

So the CTE for that person may not have come from playing soccer alone. I'm not saying that it can't happen in soccer and I do have a concern about players not being taught how to head a ball properly. But I don't think the OP's subject line paints the picture accurately if it's the same person.

This person played Australian Rules Football, which is brutal. I'm not saying soccer players can't get CTE but Aussie Rules Football is a totally different game!

See my post at 10:43, which references the person OP is talking about. Not sure why she didn't just post a link or a blurb.

Anonymous wrote:People have been arguing that there are actually more injuries and concussions in soccer than other sports for a little while now.

But assuming OP is talking about this person:
https://sports.yahoo.com/cte-diagnosed-in-professional-female-athlete-for-first-time-154706253.html

It looks like they also played other sports other than soccer, specifically rugby.

So the CTE for that person may not have come from playing soccer alone. I'm not saying that it can't happen in soccer and I do have a concern about players not being taught how to head a ball properly. But I don't think the OP's subject line paints the picture accurately if it's the same person.

This person played Australian Rules Football, which is brutal. I'm not saying soccer players can't get CTE but Aussie Rules Football is a totally different game!

Anonymous wrote:People have been arguing that there are actually more injuries and concussions in soccer than other sports for a little while now.

But assuming OP is talking about this person:
https://sports.yahoo.com/cte-diagnosed-in-professional-female-athlete-for-first-time-154706253.html

It looks like they also played other sports other than soccer, specifically rugby.

So the CTE for that person may not have come from playing soccer alone. I'm not saying that it can't happen in soccer and I do have a concern about players not being taught how to head a ball properly. But I don't think the OP's subject line paints the picture accurately if it's the same person.

previous poster, sorry I tries searching more and came across this article:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/28/health/cte-younger-athletes/index.html

and it does mention a 28 year old american soccer player. So my previous post was incorrect and the previous link was indeed to a different person than what the OP was referring to.

People have been arguing that there are actually more injuries and concussions in soccer than other sports for a little while now.

But assuming OP is talking about this person:
https://sports.yahoo.com/cte-diagnosed-in-professional-female-athlete-for-first-time-154706253.html

It looks like they also played other sports other than soccer, specifically rugby.

So the CTE for that person may not have come from playing soccer alone. I'm not saying that it can't happen in soccer and I do have a concern about players not being taught how to head a ball properly. But I don't think the OP's subject line paints the picture accurately if it's the same person.

Can anyone tell explain how a syncopal episode is related to the CTE? I don’t usually think of those as connected.

What is CTE?

Anonymous wrote:Did she die? I’m pretty sure CTE can only be diagnosed post mortem.

Yes she did, by suicide. Here is a blurb from an article about the study:

"Additionally, 4 of 23 athletes (17%) who played soccer were diagnosed with CTE—two male high school players, one male semiprofessional player and one female collegiate player. The female player was 28-years-old at the time of her death. She had played soccer as a forward for 18 years, beginning at age 3 and playing through three years of Division I collegiate soccer. In addition to two concussions without loss of consciousness while playing the sport, at age 24, she experienced a syncopal episode and a traumatic brain injury with loss of consciousness for 3 minutes. Four years later, she developed paranoia and suicidal thoughts. At 28 years of age, she died by suicide. The researchers’ postmortem examination revealed stage I CTE. Among the 152 athletes, suicide was the most common cause of death, followed by unintentional overdose."

They didn't decide to restrict headers in almost all of US youth soccer for no reason. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to be an isolated case. We had mistakenly thought only more brutal head shots more like those seen in football were what really mattered.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone hear the news that a 28 year old former college soccer player became the first American female athlete to be diagnosed with CTE? Sad story all around. I'm shocked it was a college player, and not a professional one.

Not looking to start an argument, so let's please be respectful for the athlete and her family's sakes.

Seems like an extreme diagnosis for a soccer player. I'm sure she has had some concussions in her day, but CTE seems like a stretch diagnosis. And, for a 28 y/o its not like the risk of concussions (from a medical standpoint) was unknown 10-15 years ago.

Thanks for your medical professional opinoin that it's a stretch diagnosis. Maybe you've headed too many soccer balls

Did she die? I’m pretty sure CTE can only be diagnosed post mortem.

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone hear the news that a 28 year old former college soccer player became the first American female athlete to be diagnosed with CTE? Sad story all around. I'm shocked it was a college player, and not a professional one.

Not looking to start an argument, so let's please be respectful for the athlete and her family's sakes.

Seems like an extreme diagnosis for a soccer player. I'm sure she has had some concussions in her day, but CTE seems like a stretch diagnosis. And, for a 28 y/o its not like the risk of concussions (from a medical standpoint) was unknown 10-15 years ago.

I don’t think this is surprising given the way that children’s sports have evolved over the last 20 years. I would expect this to be much more common in the future and more applicable to non-professional athletes.

Did anyone hear the news that a 28 year old former college soccer player became the first American female athlete to be diagnosed with CTE? Sad story all around. I'm shocked it was a college player, and not a professional one.

Not looking to start an argument, so let's please be respectful for the athlete and her family's sakes.