Danny Kanell Tweeted About CTE and 1985 Bears, Apparently Forgetting About Dave Duerson and Jim McMahon

ESPN’s Danny Kanell ignited a firestorm when he suggested there is a war on football. To his credit, he’s repeatedly expounded upon his viral tweet and presented a nuanced position during his radio show. He wants more evidence to come in and isn’t swayed by the existing studies cited by some to reason children should never play football.

Odds are he’ll be compelled to address another tweet he sent on the subject during last night’s 30 For 30 on the 1985 Chicago Bears.

"How did they find enough guys to speak coherently with all the CTE football apparently causes?? Must be cgi or something I guess…"

Yes, 30 years later there are many well-spoken members of the Super Bowl-winning team. Mike Singletary. Ron Rivera. Dan Hampton.

There are also a few very high-profile examples of the tragic toll football took. Dave Duerson committed suicide in 2011 by shooting himself in the chest so his brain could be studied. An autopsy revealed “indisputable evidence”of CTE. Jim McMahon has been speaking candidly for years about the deep depression he battles in concert with his early onset dementia.

I may be in the minority, but I enjoy Kanell. He appears to think for himself and isn’t afraid to be a contrarian for the sake of being a contrarian. But it’s tough to defend this comment. His message was already dipped in snark before being derailed by some sobering facts.

Predictably, there’s been backlash.

It seems hard to believe Kanell could have forgotten about Duerson and McMahon. Then again, it’s even harder to believe he’d say something like this if he remembered what’s happened with those two.