At the same time that the Mayweather-Pacquiao was becoming by far the biggest pay-per-view event ever, the New York Times published a beautifully written piece by Dan Barry about Magomed Abdusalamov, a heavyweight fighter formerly overhyped as the “Russian Tyson,” who was damaged horribly during a boxing match, which left him a bedridden 34-year-old man in need constant assistance just to barely survive. It should be required reading for anyone enamored with combat sports, which includes American football.

The European style quietly has its own concussion problem, but the NFL is a league apart, and just playing in a Pop Warner league that emulates it can set children up for a world of pain. Patrick Venzke, a German national who emigrated to America and played the sport as an amateur and professional gave a worrisome interview to Maik Großekathöfer and Sara Peschke of Spiegel. An excerpt:

Spiegel:

How often did you play with a concussion?

Patrick Venzke:

About 15 times, since I was 16. I’m not sure exactly. I was the offensive tackle, so it was my job to get the opponent out of the way for the offense, or to protect my quarterback from attack to give him a couple of seconds to pitch. I was a battering ram, a kind of bodyguard. There’d be hundreds of collisions during training every day. Collisions similar to mini accidents — the equivalent of hitting a wall at 15 miles an hour. Looking back I can see that it wasn’t always the healthiest.

Spiegel:

How is your health now?

Patrick Venzke:

I’m okay. Today. I’m okay about 350 days of the year. But it’s the other 15 that I worry about. Then I’m grateful I don’t keep a gun in the house. Because I don’t know what I might do with it.

Spiegel:

Roughly one in three NFL players suffers cognitive impairment, such as memory loss, depression, speech disorders, paranoia and apathy. What happens to you on the days you don’t feel well?

Patrick Venzke:

I get aggressive, the way I was on the field. I could hurt someone very easily.

Spiegel: 

Just like that?

Patrick Venzke:

Anything might trigger it. A barking dog can make me explode. The sound of kids screaming. When my two daughters start arguing then I go and take refuge in my man cave. But even happy shouting when they’re playing can do it. Kids yelling in restaurants — it can be very bad.

Spiegel:

But you have it under control?

Patrick Venzke:

Let’s put it this way — I have to be very disciplined in order to prevent things from getting out of control. So far the situation has never escalated, fortunately, but I tend to drink a lot to cope with the stress. I can put away 20 beers in no time at all. But it doesn’t help, it makes it worse. Sometimes I tell myself that I have life insurance worth over $3 million, enough to provide for my family for the rest of their lives. But I don’t think like that every day. Not even every week and not even every month.•