Merril Hoge, a former Pittsburgh Steelers fullback, has spent a lot of time educating people about the hazards of brain trauma since it ended his career in 1994. Hoge spent seven seasons with Pittsburgh before finishing his career with a five-game run with the Chicago Bears. He recently stated that a lack of sufficient treatment pulled him out of the game.
Hoge recently spoke with Larry Richard on The Big K Morning Show about what led to his eventual retirement from professional football. He said that while with the Bears, he suffered a head injury during a preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night. He had to visit the hospital, and the squad lost him.
“They put me in the waiting room after I’d done my MRI because they wanted to make sure I didn’t have any bleeding when I flew, so I could fly back home after the game,” Hoge explained. “They lost me in the hospital. I had wandered up three levels, and I don’t recall going up.”
Hoge went on to add that five days later, he called the Bears’ team doctor and was cleared. He admitted to feeling bad and having a severe headache, but told the doctor he was fine because he wanted to play.
He appeared in four regular-season games before having another head trauma episode against the Buffalo Bills in week five. He claimed that after entering the locker room, he experienced a heart collapse and fell off the table. He stated that that incident, which he had little recall of, marked the end of his career.
“I needed to learn to read again. My entire career stops right there. They then retired me. “They say I can’t play.”
Hoge’s professional football career came to an end when he was 29 years old. He stated that it began a period in which he was in “as dark a space as I had ever been.”
The Steelers were ahead of the other organizations in dealing with brain trauma.
Hoge expressed gratitude for the additional safety precautions implemented by both clubs and the league to reduce the risk of head injuries. While the physical nature of football makes it hard to eliminate all risks, the current game has more systems in place to properly treat brain damage. Hoge praised the Steelers for being ahead of other clubs in applying these steps.
Hoge noted that when he arrived in Chicago, there was no baseline testing. He stated that the team physician in the Windy City was a family doctor with no surgical skills. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, had a head trainer, John Norwig, who was working to prevent more brain trauma.
Hoge stated that there is now a greater responsibility on athletes to disclose their symptoms, and that with improved education on the dangers of head injuries, they will be better prepared to grasp the risks.
“The player has responsibility now because we’re much more educated from that perspective,” Hoge said. “They need to accept responsibility for their symptoms and be honest about it. Because, if you do the proper thing early and quickly enough, you will be able to return to play much sooner.”
He noted that it is not only for his short-term health and return to play, but also for the long term.
Hoge is profoundly interested in the issue of brain damage in sports, particularly football. In 2018, he co-authored a book with board-certified forensic neuropathologist Dr. Peter Cummings on the myths of CTE.
Although not the most well-known athlete, Hoge’s decision to relate his personal experience with brain trauma is extremely beneficial. People who learn from stories like his can help establish better mechanisms for managing it in the future.
