Former NFL player Gastineau says he’s been diagnosed with dementia
Mark Gastineau, who starred for the New York Jets in the 1980s, says he is battling Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Gastineau, 60, received his diagnosis last year and wants the next generation to take proper precautions before playing football.
In the 1980s, Mark Gastineau was one of the NFL’s most dominant pass-rushers. As part of the New York Jets’ defensive line, he set all-time team record for sacks and appeared in the Pro Bowl five times.
But on Thursday, the football legend shared some disturbing news about how football may have affected his health. During an interview with WOR Radio in New York, he revealed that he’s battling serious brain disorders that he believes were caused by concussions in football.
Gastineau, 60, said that he received the serious diagnosis last year. “When my results came back, I had dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s,” he said. “Those are three things that I have.”
It’s unclear what caused the brain diseases; after retiring from the NFL, he was a professional boxer. He fought 17 professional bouts in the early 1990s.
But in the interview, Gastineau said that he did a lot of damage while playing football. “I led with my head all the time,” he said, describing how he’d have “wars” in practice. “People would come and gather around because when we hit each other, you would hear pops, like a shotgun going off.”
Despite his diagnosis, Gastineau says that he doesn’t regret playing football – but he wants the next generation to take the proper precautions before playing the game.
Gastineau now works with USA Football’s Heads Up Football, an NFL-sanctioned program that promotes safer tackling practices. “There are techniques out there now,” he told the radio show. “I would have had them, I wouldn’t have the results I have now.”