Our Story
SLI was founded on June 14, 2007 in Boston, Massachusetts by Christopher Nowinski and Dr. Robert Cantu in reaction to new medical research indicating brain trauma in sports had become a public health crisis. Post-mortem analysis of the brain tissue of former contact sports athletes was revealing that repetitive brain injuries, both concussions and non-concussive blows, could lead to a neurodegenerative disease known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. In addition, an absence of awareness and education on concussions, specifically proper diagnosis and management, was allowing the disease to proliferate. Finally, with brain trauma becoming the signature injury of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, this research/education model could also be applied to the military.
SLI was founded to solve this concussion crisis in sports and the military through medical research, treatment, and education & prevention. The initial vision of SLI was to formalize the groundbreaking neuropathological research and develop treatment and a cure through partnering with a top-tier university medical school. That vision was achieved when SLI partnered with Boston University School of Medicine in September, 2008, to form the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy. SLI would also develop ways to raise awareness of the issue and directly educate coaches, athletes and parents. As of 2012, SLI continues to achieve those goals through our Advanced Concussion Training and SLICE programs, the Chicago Concussion Coalition, and raising awareness through media like the New York Times, 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, and many others.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Sports Legacy Institute is to advance the study, treatment and prevention of the effects of brain trauma in athletes and other at-risk groups.
“Why are we called Sports Legacy?”
“Sports” is the first word in our name because our initial work on the long-term effects of brain trauma focused on those sustained in athletic endeavors. In addition, since sports are a controlled environment, they are a perfect laboratory to study brain trauma and develop treatments for people that suffer brain trauma from any cause.
“Legacy” was chosen for two significant reasons.
First, SLI’s initial efforts focused on neuropathology. The only way to diagnose Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is through the examination of brain tissue after an athlete has passed away. Our important research findings – that have since changed how brain trauma is approached in sports - required courageous families to entrust their loved one’s brain tissue to us post-mortem. The word “Legacy” was chosen to inform the families and future donors that the decision to donate would have far reaching, permanent, positive consequences. What we have learned from men like Tom McHale, Wally Hilgenberg, or John Grimsley has changed the sports world forever, and for the better. SLI will always honor their contribution to safer sports, and their legacy.
Second, “Legacy” was chosen to draw attention to the fact that the brain trauma children receive in sportsleaves a permanent legacy within their developing bodies. Brain trauma can lead to an irreversible disease, CTE. Therefore, in some way, every hit to the head leaves a mark, or a legacy, on a child’s future. In 2007, when SLI was founded, concussion education was not a mandatory part of any youth sports program, and appropriate return-to-play guidelines were not emphasized. We need to continually ask ourselves “What is the legacy that youth sports leave on our children’s futures?”