HealthAugust 27, 2026

When Football and Families Collide: What a New CTE Study Shows

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② Start Lesson

Key Vocabulary

CTE/ˌsiː tiː ˈiː/

A brain disease linked to repeated head hits.

"Doctors study CTE after a person dies."

dementia/dɪˈmɛnʃə/

A decline in memory and thinking skills.

"His grandfather had dementia and forgot things."

donor/ˈdoʊnər/

A person who gives something, such as a brain for research.

"The family became a donor to medical research."

Listening

When Football and Families Collide: What a New CTE Study Shows

A new medical study looked at former National Football League players who died between 2016 and 2021. The researchers found that at least 24.5% of these players had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in their brains when they died. CTE is a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head impacts and memory loss.

The study also gave a possible range for how common CTE might be. The lowest estimate is 24.5% and the highest possible estimate is 97.7%. Some donors had advanced CTE and showed dementia symptoms before death. Many families are now discussing these findings as they decide if children should play tackle football.

105 words

Quiz

1. What minimum percent of players had CTE at death?

2. When did the studied players die?

3. What disease is linked to repeated head impacts?

Reading Practice

Read the article from the Listening section aloud. Your AI teacher will give you pronunciation feedback.

Discussion

Do you worry about head injuries in contact sports? Why or why not?

Have you ever encouraged a child to stop a sport for health reasons? What happened?

What do you think about parents who do not allow their children to play tackle football?