Borland Retirement Proves It's Not Just Parents Taking Football Safety Seriously

KCBS News Anchor Stan Bunger (who along with KCBS Sports Anchor Steve Bitker are the on-air duo known as KCBS Sports Fans) offers his unique sports analysis.

How different might sports history have been if Rickey Henderson's mom had been OK with all those college football scholarship offers thrust her son's way?

Bobbie Henderson's concern about the dangers of football comes to mind in the aftermath of the Chris Borland early-retirement announcement. Borland had en eye-popping rookie season at linebacker for the 49ers, but is walking away from the game.

It's a remarkable decision for a 24-year-old who stood to make millions playing in the NFL, but it says so much about how the conversation has shifted from the one Mrs. Henderson had with Rickey 40 years ago in Oakland.

Back in the 70's, the Hendersons probably weren't talking about permanently-disabling brain injuries, suicide, or dementia. But that's what Chris Borland had in mind when he wrote to his parents, before he'd ever played in an NFL regular-season game. He told them he'd retire early because of his worries about head trauma.

Make no mistake: this is an existential question for the NFL, and by extension, the multibillion dollar college football behemoth. It's one thing for a world-class athlete like Rickey Henderson to choose baseball over football early in life.

It's another for someone to commit to the game of football and get inside it before calling it quits. Chris Borland isn't basing his decision on a mom's fears; he's seen the game from the inside and knows what he's up against.