From the NFL to Studying Brain Health in Black Athletes

The following is a summary of a story that originally appeared on the School of Medicine website. 

Robert W. Turner II knows football from the inside, having played defensive back in the NFL. Today, he is a medical sociologist at Duke University School of Medicine and one of the most active voices calling on Black men to participate in brain health research. 

The need is urgent. Black Americans are about twice as likely as white Americans to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s, and researchers still do not know exactly why. “You can’t do the science if the people most affected aren’t at the table,” said Turner. 

He is working to change that. Turner leads a National Institutes of Health‑funded study focused on how repeated head impacts in football interact with early‑life stress and economic hardship as Black men age. The study explores whether hits from tackle football can alter the brain in ways that affect memory, thinking, and mental health. 

Existing studies already link football to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. Turner wants to know whether repeated hits may also raise the chances of Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases. “These questions affect entire families and communities,” he said. 

The project includes Duke, Boston University, and the Duke/UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Researchers are enrolling 200 Black men over 50. Half played American tackle football at any level. Half never played a contact sport.

Turner hopes the men will see themselves as partners in this work. “Men want answers for themselves and for those still in the game,” he said. “We’re seeing real interest because now, they’re finally being asked.”

For more information on the project, go to the School of Medicine website.