Former NFL tight end Ben Utecht writing book on head trauma
Former Colts and Bengals tight end Ben Utecht is writing a book about his experiences with head trauma as a player.
“Counting the Days Until My Mind Slips Away” is scheduled for release in fall 2016. Utecht suffered multiple concussions playing football and struggles with serious memory loss at the age of 34. He was a member of the Super-Bowl winning Colts team in 2006, and left the NFL in 2009 in wake of an injury settlement with the Bengals.
Utecht is now a spokesman for the American Academy of Neurology and testified before Congress in 2014 regarding concussions. The Associated Press reports Utecht has a six-figure deal with Simon & Schuster imprint Howard Books, according to the Abrams Artists Agency.
The issue of concussions in football has become prevalent in recent years and remains an issue for the sport as experts attempt to improve the game's safety. Recent Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Junior Seau died by suicide in 2012, two and a half years after retiring from football. A study of his brain tissue found signs of degenerative brain disease CTE (associated with repeated blows to the head), and in January 2013 his family sued the NFL, alleging that his suicide was caused by a brain disease developed from years of sustaining hits while playing in the league.
• Read: Junior Seau had CTE, study shows
- Jeremy Woo
