Brett Favre Hopes 'Concussed' Documentary Sheds Light On Head Trauma in NFL | TMZ Sports

it took a long time I'll say that uh and I didn't do near the work that the the main guy in this is David Canó I mean I have to give the credit to him and he he did an outstanding job of you know it's more of a documentary I have people say what about the movie and I'm I'm like it's more of a documentary and it really um I I think more more than anything it talks about Tyler sash as it should um he was all everything in Iowa and I and what we're trying to get across is uh I know concussions have been talked about head trauma has been talked about uh but we're we're trying to keep keep the fire alive I guess as much as anything and shed some light on some certain things but Tyler sash is a perfect example of what P trauma can do and it doesn't matter and this is the thing thing that I try to tell people it doesn't matter if you've had 20 major concussions or one concussion period the one concussion can be the one that destroys your whole life and the guy with 20 major concussions May seemingly have a you know a a pleasant life so there's no Rhyme or Reason and that and and that's what's scary about concussions and head trauma and I and I say concussions and head trauma when really they're sort of the same but I think people relate concussions to Athletics uh but a concussion more or less is is bruising of the brain and the more bruising the more severe and you know head Fula same thing so you slip on your your ice skate and you slip hit your head lose your memory you you you shake the cobwebs out you're you're seemingly okay now but what happens down you know down the road in the future and uh I mean with with Tyler you know and I was not familiar with this story until we started work on this and um I mean it was and I know there's other stories like this but this guy was everything in Iowa High School athletics went to University of Iowa was everything there was the hero was drafted by the Giants and within a couple years had a major concussion early on and just went berserk went back home and went berserked and everybody that knew him and there was a lot that knew him and you see this in in the the documentary were shocked at the behavior and um again it's just really frightening what what can happen and it can and it can happen just like that I think the NFL has done some good things I really do but I really think they need gear their money and energy to finding a solution a treatment helmets and and Dr amalu I had a if you remember him Will Smith ask you because I've talked to him a bunch of times yeah so I asked him when it when is a good time for kids or humans to start playing tackle football he kind of chuckled he said never and I said well that's not going to happen you know and he said true he said but if they would at least raise the the tackling to high school you're gonna you're still GNA have problems but you're going to save some kids some misery later on in life there's no reason for elementary junior high ninth graders to be tackled absolutely just universally you know do a flag football deal or you know and and teach the fundamentals but you're saving their head in the process when you look back at everything and I'm and I'm you're probably going to say no but would you have done anything differently any regrets or you know this is it was just a learning process I've bet I've had that same question five times this this past week and and it really is tough to answer I I would think I would have a definite answer for that but I think the way I've answered it previously um I really don't know because I don't have to you know I don't have to to go back and and do it again but is I love to play football and I knew it was violent but knowing how serious concussions are now as if I went back there were times where I had and here's the thing I asked or Dr Malo said how many concussions have you had and I said three he laughed he said three where did you get the number three and I said well were I blacked out or was was uh fuzzy or dizzy or he said let me ask you a question how many times did you get tackled or hit or and he said High School whenever off the field playround whatever where you you had ringing in the ears fireworks go off cobwebs in the in the head I mean you you're able to function but you see a player shake his head how many times did that happen and I said thousand you know maybe more like almost every time I got tackled you know was fireworks are ringing in my ears he goes That's a concussion he said think about Muhammad Ali how many times did he just get decked I mean I can count him probably one hand but how many Jabs that he get oh you know he didn't think nothing of them neither did the people watch him but the damage that they did over time and so Dr malo's whole point was those little small concussions that you've had add up over time you you've had three major concussions that you know that's three too many but a thousand many concussions are going to do the damage and so uh I think when I if I were to go back and in one of those moments where I was the Bell was was ringing and and you know I had a fuzzy feeling I think I would have not been as as anxious to get back in the game those moments I was like hell yeah I'm playing you know right I'm sure you're asked about your grandkids as well you know getting into the age where tackle football they're right they're getting to that age do you have the conversation this up to them up to your daughter they have never asked me anything about playing football I have never addressed it with them in fact two of them are playing two of the three are playing soccer on a at a travel uh tournament today and that in itself can can have its you know concussions but I honestly Steve I would be so and not from a living up to expectations perspective but I would be so fearful of them getting injured not just the head and everybody's like well I can't believe you say that look look at the way you play that's different that was me as I watch my grandsons I know how violent it can be um and so I don't want I honestly don't want them to be subjected to that um but so far they haven't I mean they'll ask me football questions but they have no desire to play how much does your career you know have a toll on your life today I mean obviously you've you you were injured a lot not just the head injuries back injuries everything right yeah um I can't complain even though I do my wife won't give me too much sympathy I'm able to do most of the things that I choose to do or I like to do but for example I was never a good golfer but I I try to play once a week with my brother and three of our close friends the last time I played I made 17 holes time for that I made like 11 um you know so I mean I'm I'm able to do things but not without a reminder you know of what I did for so long before we were recording you said you were you you were cycling and then you showed me this this device helping your back what is that like a cell phone yeah tell us what that is all right so two months ago I had a spinal cord stimulator implanted in my back I'd never heard of it which was surprising because it's been around 20 years um so my my dear friend who's also the back surgeon here in town did surgery on me a year ago and it was the the the term was a fomy what I was having uh prior to the surgery and I I've done and I'm almost embarrassed to say this I've had 29 epidurals and three ablations in the last two and a half years which is a lot some work some worked for a day two days some didn't work at all so we got we did the frame anotomy and what again what the problem was was like it it was coming from my back but it was leg pain not shooting down my leg it was in my growing side of my hip and in my glute and usually when I woke up it would be in the gro it would move to the side as the day progressed and by the time I got in shower it would be in my glue and I'm telling you I don't know what it's like to have a ice pick stuck in your Gro or side of your leg or you glute but this had to be pretty close and finally I couldn't take it so my buddy said we'll we'll do the surgery and he he tried to talk me out of it as long as possible he's like these surgeries just historically are not long-term successful in other words two or three months the problem was these facet joints on each side of my spine that I describe them as like noodles and the nerves come up from the leg and go into these noodles well all my noodles are clogged up with arthritis and so they're squeezing the nerves and we all know what it feels like when you touch a nerve you know especially like in your mouth or whatever well this th this is the major problem that my back is causing with my leg I mean I I can move a certain way and it it probably Kinks that nerve in my back but the surgery for about two and a half months was great I felt great and then it came right back but he said it would so in enter this was kind of like the last thing to try other than going back do the same surgery again which which he strongly doesn't recommend and I agree so they put this stimulator in my back and there's all kinds of um programs you can you can have a feel or a non feel so feel obviously you feel it non feel it's working but you don't feel it I tend to gravitate to all the field programs and it's like if you've ever had stem on your leg or your arm where they put the little you know pads on you and they crank up the your legs jumping yeah that's what that's what this is like but it's coming from inside it's a little bit of a weird feeling um but like if I'm going through the day and I carry this remote everywhere and it's really hurting I jack it up and usually I'll sit in the truck or so I have to sit down because it'll make me throw up or I'll fall because I mean it's it's almost to a point where you know you just you almost want to pass out but I don't do that very often usually I got it on a low frequency but so far it's if the pain is an eight before stimulator it may be a three or four with it