When Ohio State football player and wrestler Kosta Karageorge was found dead in a dumpster in November of 2014, the community was in shock. This caused many to begin focusing in on the issue of head injuries in football, an issue that has become more and more prevalent during recent times.
In a New York Times piece written by Tim Rohan, the way that Karageorge was brought up in his household was discussed. It also speaks on how Rohan never wanted to miss a contest due to head injuries, in fear that it would make him seem less masculine.
Rohan also brings up how the athlete’s other relatives were raised. Karageorge’s brother, Jim, was seemingly always injured, and managed to crack three football helmets in high school. The issue got so bad that an athletic trainer advised him to quit the sport all together because he had accumulated so many injuries.
Kosta Karageorge was expected to display this same toughness when he entered sports as well.
Between Karageorge’s family and his own obsession with being the best, he was under a lot of stress at a very young age. It even reached the point that he began to go bald as early as eighth grade. He would eventually be diagnosed with alopecia, a condition caused by stress.
Karageorge’s first major incident of head trauma occurred when he got a concussion while wrestling in his high school years. As time went on and his career progressed, Karageorge sustained countless more head injuries.
Per Rohan, Karageorge had an extreme interest in guns, almost matching his fascination with sports.
The last straw for Karageorge was when he got into an argument with his girlfriend. She refused to speak with him, so Karageorge confided in those closest to him to tell them about what had happened.
Karageorge committed suicide shortly after. When his brain was examined after his death, Tau, the protein associated with CTE, was found.
