American football player swaps the NFL for MIT.

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Photo: Courtesy of MIT

Between being an NFL (National Football League) star or an MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) genius, what would you choose? John Urschel, forward for the Baltimore Ravens, had no doubts: he traded the football field for the classroom.

After three seasons, the 26-year-old player chose to pursue a PhD in Mathematics at MIT rather than continue risking his health playing American football. The retirement announcement came a day after the release of research from Boston University on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is very common among athletes in the sport.

By analyzing the brains of 111 NFL players, researchers found signs of CTE-related damage in 110 of them. Although he had always maintained that he loved the sport too much to give it up, it seems that the results of the CTE research made Urschel reconsider his views and opt for an academic career.

Urschel, the youngest athlete to retire in the NFL, is reportedly concerned that his head injuries may affect his mathematical abilities. A talented chess player, he had already complained in 2015 that his intellectual skills were impaired after a concussion. " I think it hurt my ability to think well mathematically," he stated.

The former Ravens striker studies graph spectral theory and numerical linear algebra, among other subjects. He has already published nine articles on mathematics, three of which have not yet been peer-reviewed. Now, off the field, his intellectual output will certainly increase. Academia is grateful, and Ravens fans…

Source: HBO

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