Merril Hoge Talks The Lack of Proof Connecting CTE and Concussions l THE ODD COUPLE

THE ODD COUPLE – Chris Broussard & Rob Parker former NFL player and analyst Merril Hoge. Merril talks about how there isn’t a direct link between CTE and concussion. Merril says that there are complications but not direct link, and the guys talk about research behind this connection.

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Our next guest former NFL running back and I’m I’m glad to have him on the show I got some things to ask him but NFL analyst now Merl hjge Merill Welcome to The Odd Couple man yo yo yeah I love I love The Odd Couple it’s going to be

Part of The Odd Couple no doubt hey Chris you should see Merill I mean my God he’s in great shape no I see what I see I see him wasted up he looks like he could get back in could be playing this weekend hey he want some of that NFL

Money right now just got one rule don’t hit me I’m all in just don’t hit me now Merl tell us what you you’re you’re here for and then we’ll get into some of the football okay well just really quick this breather fit um I had came to my attention um and when they’re

Describing to me I’m like that’s exactly what I did after open heart surgery so I could strengthen my lung capacity to leave the hospital and then he he said well did you know that we after age 30 everybody starts to slowly erode from their respiratory perspective um less

Oxygen comes into your body I didn’t realize it was that early on in life I did not know that starts to erod so that that means less oxygen goes to the brain which there’s two key functions about brain function that’s oxygen and blood flow and the better we keep that going

The healthier we going to be so anyway I I do train a lot and I I do cardio so I thought I didn’t know that respiratory system could be isolated and you could just train it to strengthen it so I’m like I don’t want to believe it I want

To try it so I start trying it I start I actually felt the difference I was like well I can actually feel how I do feel stronger when I’m doing my cardio but here’s where I I did an accident which is typical of a SE student you don’t do

It on purpose you do it on accident I take a trip to Pebble Beach and uh Santa Barbara and then I had to go to Arizona and Utah so I was gone for like 14 days I trained while I was gone I lifted I stretched I didn’t do any

Cardio and I did this so I got home and I started doing my cardio I do a high intense cardio is my first day and you could tell that I hadn’t worked out for two weeks by my heart rate but my ability to Brea breathe was easy and I

Was like holy cow I’m like was that I was like so let’s say somebody isn’t isn’t doing any cardio you could do this five days five minutes uh day twice a day um six days out of the week and you can improve your respiratory system and your ability to breathe and oxygen flow

And if that and that that Improvement will help you feel better um think better function better and if that is the worst thing that comes from it that is a good thing and if it adds a little more to spark you to invest in your

Health a little more and get to add a little cardi you eat a little better then Chris could get rid of that spare tire yeah Chris could be like a lean machine baby so you can go to brether fit.com if you if you’re interested and and it don’t you don’t have to be

Somebody who’s never done it you can be somebody who’s really training good and you can enhance your program so it it benefit for everybody awesome yeah that’s good stuff so thank you thank you guys no definitely well what I wanted to ask you about Merl cuz I remember we had

You on a few years ago and um and I’d even heard you interviewed on other shows and you wrote a book a a few years ago right about kind of I hope this doesn’t miscalculate what what you were saying but kind of uh challenging the talk about CTE or the damage that football

Does to you know people’s brains and players and things like that so one I want to know again tell us about the book and your Viewpoint and I want to know kind of where that’s at cuz you really you only hear the other side you really don’t hear your side very much

Yeah so we’ll uh we’ll update um the science so really all I’m telling you is what the science tells you and the truth of the science so in the book I wrote which is actually a little over five years ago wow there was no science to support that playing football at any

Level at any time is is going to leave you with the possibility of a brain disease or cogni cognitive impairment okay there’s no scientific evidence to back that in fact to update the science they just did that a research was just done where they looked at all of the

Research done over the last 20 years from 2003 to 2023 and there was a certain standard of science that was required based on the papers they selected not one of Boston University’s papers were selected in this particular review for this it’s weakness in science and I’ll get to that

And why it is weak science and disgusting science and they’re the ones that created this narrative too by the way Chris so this is where it all starts in those all of the literature so that’s every piece of literature that has been done in 20 years was looked at and

There’s not one piece of evidence that says you if playing contact Sports contact football you have a risk of having some type of brain disease later in life there’s not one and this was more poignant to the California bill when they’re trying to ban tackle football there is no

Reason to ban that based on a scientific aspect now you go back to the the people that created this when I first wrote this book um I couldn’t share a lot of things that I knew at the time because the book wouldn’t have ever been published would have been in legal

Arguments well Boston University has been in the court of public opinion so they can say anything they want people aren’t going to go read the scientific literature they’re not going to verify if it’s true or not true they’re just going to spew what Boston University says their science says without reading

It which is deplorable and harmful quite honestly to people from a journalist perspective if you don’t do that because that’s your responsibility to know that if you’re going to share it well they’ve been in a bunch of court cases so they now went into the court of law they have

Been exposed for changing medical records adding to medical records the scientists and the medical people of Boston University and that is court documents that is not me saying it that is in a public Arena that is B based on depositions that is why their science is atrocious there is no now that doesn’t

Mean that concussions are okay or having head trauma is okay because it’s not and there is ways to repair and recover from that what it’s not going to lead to is a brain disease because there’s no scientific evidence to support that there’s not a shred of evidence in fact

The the science that is coming out more and more and more is stacking against that which is a critical step of science replication and duplication you must continue to look at and research it and do it over and over again and everything that’s replicated and duplicated keeps

Back to saying that there is not going to be a brain disease later in life now the pattern of CT does exist okay that that that does but it’s not it’s in an observation State and more people that have that pattern that are in the medical journal and this is a scientific

Fact and a medical fact had never played football more people in the medical journal have that pattern never played football never had a head had trauma and never played a contact sport in their life okay now I can just tell this just by the sampling enough that tells you

That football isn’t even a part of the equation but let me ask you this and and there there are for football players a lot of football players drop dead in their 50s and there’s a lot of and I don’t I don’t have the exact numbers so are you saying that football has nothing

To do with some of these people who have played and experienced things later on in life are you saying that okay I’m saying playing football does not cause a brain disease or the or the pattern CTE okay that that that that’s not causing the CTE pattern and then you’re having a

Brain disease later in life that’s what I’m saying can you have some cognitive issues from playing the football um and having some impact I’m I’m a living example of that what ended my career was improper care and it wasn’t the concussion it was improper care that physical trauma that ended my career I

Went into cardiac arrest I laid intensity care care for days I had to learn how to read again the physical aspect of what I experienced I eventually recovered from I I did some some treatment some protocols actually self-anointed stuff now we have protocols we have treatment and care

That can help repair that but the thing that put me over the edge the thing that drove that sat me on a couch and brought dark days in my life was the emotional trauma the loss the no purpose U the no hope I lost my career something I’d done

For 22 years emotional trauma is our bigger concern than the actual physical trauma now they can have same similar symptoms but think of this when you think of sh I was just okay I mentioned the P beach trip I’m going to a trip with four people okay these four guys

That are there um are all every one of them are going to have a knee replacement or a uh hip replacement within the next year one of their sons died at age 53 D drug overdose the other one commits suicide at age 38 and the other one had his wife got dementia at

Age 59 if these were NFL players and I gave you that whole scenario people would point at one thing football they play right they would say football caused it that’s what now I’m not saying there’s not wear and tear from playing the game of football I’m not saying it’s

Okay to have head trauma that’s why we have protocols in place but there’s there’s incredible treatment there’s in critical rehab process that can help you recover from that the emotional trauma is the bigger aspect of life and our concerns and there’s care for that as well so when you hear and we’ve heard

Some former football players who will not allow their kids to play even Brett Favre went on the record and said he has daughters so but he said if he had a son yeah he he wouldn’t let him play football when you hear that what do you

Make of that and that’s I’m just that’s just am I right Chris I’ve heard it that’s all not Chris I’m glad you brought all this up because these are these are topics that are going to keep keep evolving and we need to we we have

To talk about it if you’re here I mean otherwise what would be the purpose and we need to share what the real facts are I’m just say when you hear when I’m going to say that I I don’t know where they’re getting their information okay are they hearing it from the media

Because I’ll go back to this I have I had a son too started playing age s played all the way to a division one scholarship to BYU played quarterback he played I coached thousands and thousands of kids a from ages 8 to 18 I see the ultimate value that Sports especially

Football can help the resiliency all of the tools that you create for a young man and young kids to give them tools for life’s work and the value in that and when I hear somebody say they want their kids to play a contact sport I would just have where did you get that

Information what do you basing your information on I think a parent has the responsibility to look at all the information but some of those guys I’ve asked that question and they say when I when I can’t get up or my body or what I’ve been through physically I don’t

Want my children to go through that that that’s the answer that they give me and so their thing is not scientific or through a book it’s their own own experience own experience and you can’t it’s hard to argue with that if they’ve experienced something I never argue that

I never argue another parent okay I would never argue another parent um reasoning for not doing but I have a lot of parents come to me and go well you know I heard that you know they’re going to get a brain my kid if I play football

Youth football he’s have brain disease L I absolutely that’s not true there’s no science to support that I’ll give you the scientific literature to read it I’m not going to change your mind cuz I have no right to do that I just want to open your mind so that you have the right

Information if you’re going to rob your kid of something they love at least do it with all the information before you rob them Marl we got to go but in about 15 seconds I know that’s quick if you can is the league do you have a a a a a

Voice with the league or anybody that’s promoting your Viewpoint is the league hearing that or not um there’s a yes and and a no to that Chris um here’s look we saw everybody saw what happened to Tua okay this is still the biggest problem with head trauma is improper care we have

Protocols and tools in place if they’re not executed properly it comes down to failure of using the proper protocols and tool that failed me that failed too and that’s still the biggest problem it listen if we don’t want to have head trauma then don’t live in your home

Bading cause head trauma tripping and falling most dangerous environment your home don’t let your kids walk into a shower don’t let them go down the stairs okay it’s if it does happen What do you do and what protocols put in place get him the right treatment get them the

Right care don’t live in fear live by what you trust that’s great stuff M quickly the name of your book for those that might want to get it uh brainwashed brainwashed just brainwashed and it um the bad signs behind foot the bad signs behind CT and the plot to destroy

Football Chris’s brainwash he thinks Tom Brady is the goat and not think Joe Montana I just want you to know Chris I actually like you’re you were thinking I I don’t think anybody could Trump Tom Brady I knew I knew Maro was going to be with he’s smart guy when did they cheat

They cheated go ask y’all can finish this y’all can finish this off air but Merl H great stuff we appreciate it brother thank you man