Q. Have you told your son?
A. My son and I had the conversation this morning. I said, “I just want to let you know that we’re going to donate my brain to science.” » And he replies: “It’s weird, mom. Why would you do that?” And I could see he was thinking, “Won’t you need it?” I said, “It’s a long time away, Jaden. You don’t have to worry about it. And he says, “All right,” and he goes back to what he was doing. But I explained to him that if you cut a tree in half and look at the rings, it will tell you the story. If there are irregularities, scientists can say, “Oh, this happened,” and they can tell when it happened by the rings. I explained to him that if there was a way, when they were dissecting my brain, to say, “OK, at age 9 we see this,” maybe they hadn’t had this information before. That would be really helpful, I think. It was easier to say yes.
Q. You estimated there were “probably half a dozen times” in your career where you avoided likely concussions by heading the ball. Have you experienced any symptoms that worry you?
A. There are definitely days when I turn a corner and think to myself, “Why did I walk into this room? I’ve certainly thought, from time to time, “Hmm, I wonder if this has anything to do with the last 40 years of sports.” » Football wasn’t the only thing I played. It crossed my mind. I wonder about the implications over the next 20 years when I should be fully functional and still doing things I love or want to do. I try not to dwell on those things, because it doesn’t really matter at this point. You just don’t know it.
Q. Have you had this conversation with other members of the national team?
A. I haven’t had any conversations with current players. I had conversations with Cindy Parlow, Kristine Lilly, Mia. I don’t really think it’s a topic of conversation at this level. I think Abby Wambach – I’m trying to get her involved because I think she’ll be the subject of an interesting brain study, decades from now, as a player who scored 75 goals with her head and probably stuck his head in places, like Michelle Akers, where they probably didn’t belong. How many times has she hit her head on the ground after being run over by someone?
