Judith Gates, whose husband Bill retired from football the day before his 30th birthday due to chronic migraines, featured more than 200 times for Middlesbrough, created the foundation for Head Shield Soccer following confirmation of her CTE test.
“In the last two or three years he could no longer speak, he could no longer walk, he had difficulty swallowing, so the physical symptoms were added to the cognitive ones,” says Judith. “You’re looking at the person you like.” they softened, and all that made them who they had been, step by step, diminishing.
“CTE is brutal. It brings mood problems. Bill went through a moment of suicidal ideation, in which he begged us to get him a gun. I had to hide all the paracetamol that was in the house.”
Previously this future The Telegraph reported, abroad that the FA tried to stop an investigation into the role played by football in Bill’s death.
“This is an emotional situation,” says Judith. “To hear the FA wishing to ignore our family’s wish for the truth to be told about Bill was painful.”
An FA spokesperson told the BBC: “We reiterate our solidarity with the Gates family. Although we do not believe it is appropriate to comment on an ongoing investigation, our position is that the issue of any potential link between football and neurodegenerative diseases is “It is clearly a matter of public interest that must be handled appropriately and appropriately.”
Judith has found purpose in trying to prevent other footballers from suffering the same fate as Bill. Head Shield Soccer aims to ensure that players, professional or novice, from CTE through teaching them about management tactics will also be reduced in training.
“I’m absolutely sure it’s a ticking time bomb,” Judith says. “I spend a lot of time with players who are between playing and having demonstrable symptoms. What I find in conversations with them is that they are scared to death.”
For maestro Stewart, the important thing is to focus on reducing a less important touch between head and ball.
“A significant proportion of footballers may be affected by this if they reach an age where dementia is a problem,” he says.
“We sat down with some of the families and discovered that some players can head the ball 70,000 times during a 10 to 15 year career, but only a fraction of them (between a thousand and two thousand) may have occurred during games. So “We can get rid of 90% to 95% of head impacts by just continuing to head toward the game.”
There are regulations in England, Scotland and Wales limiting heading in children’s games, although there are other restrictions on playground training in English and Scottish professional games.
The Three Widows need a reduced direction, rather than the opposite, and more education of younger players about the risks of CTE.
An FA spokesperson told the BBC: “We continue to take a leading role in reviewing and improving the safety of our game. This includes investing in and supporting multiple projects to gain greater understanding of this area through robust, targeted and exhaustive research.
“We have already taken many proactive steps to study and address potential risk factors that may be associated with football while ongoing research in this segment continues, including liaising with international governing bodies.”
