In 1989, USC had a depth chart of a dozen linebackers. Five have died, each before age 50.

The biggest stars in the world are pledging their brains. Young players are leaving the game with their destinies unfulfilled. The stories they tell spark fear and raise questions. And the science hasn’t even begun to provide answers.

A road trip through an athletic career.

“Football as we know it is done, because the lawyers are here.”

Suspecting he had CTE and that it would eventually kill him, a former high school football player kept a diary of what was has happening to his brain.

“Oh my God, the NFL is using every trick in the book to market to kids.”

A retired fighter worries that he has all the symptoms of CTE.