Comedian and influencer Druski has a new video out that seems to mock football players who battle CTE, and NFL alum T.J. Ward is not pleased.
“When something is funny, it’s funny. Some of the situations in that skit, there were a couple of funny moments,” Ward, 39, said on the Thursday, August 27, episode of the “Speakeasy” podcast. “But overall, I’m going to put my sensitivity cap on like everyone else seems to do when affecting them.”
In the skit, which Druski, 31, posted via Instagram on Wednesday, August 26, the comedian portrays a football player with a habit of taking hard hits. In one, his helmet flies off and he lies on his back with his arms rigid in a “fencing response,” a telltale sign of a concussion.
As the skit continues, Druski’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic as he leads police on a high-speed chase, kicks the door in on a woman’s apartment before seeming to attack her, and repeatedly smashes his head into a locker.
The skit seemingly aims to satirize the real health problems many former players encounter and the erratic behavior that has been linked to CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
CTE, which can only be diagnosed after death, is caused by repeated head trauma and can result in memory loss, impaired judgment, erratic behavior and aggression. It is estimated that at least 25 percent of former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 had the disease, according to a study published by the BMJ.
“These are life-and-death situations,” Ward said. “At the end of the day, it’s a life-taking disease. And I think CTE, universally, is the only disease that’s allowed to be made fun of, which is crazy. You wouldn’t make fun of somebody with cancer, you wouldn’t make fun of somebody with dementia, you wouldn’t make fun of somebody with AIDS.”
He continued, “You wouldn’t make fun of anyone with these diseases that are taking lives. But for some reason … football players, people that have effects of collisions and CTE symptoms are the only people who are allowed to be made fun of.”
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Ward wasn’t the only player to take issue with Druski’s skit. Former NBA star Michael Redd admitted that it hit home for him too.
“I played pro sports for a living,” Redd, 47, wrote via X. “CTE is the thing that scares guys in my world more than just about anything, and that’s true across every contact sport. It’s taken guys we grew up watching. You don’t build a bit around that.”
He added, “Comedy’s his lane, and he’s great there. Football though? He might be done with that one…”
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