Jets' Kerley pulling 8-year-old son from youth football due to CTE concerns

New York Jets wide receiver Jeremy Kerley is in his seventh season in the NFL. At 5-foot-9, 188 pounds, the fifth-round pick of the Jets in the 2011 draft has relied on speed and elusiveness to put together a long, mildly-successful career.

Kerley says his eight-year-old son Dae'shon may be following in his footsteps in terms of skills, dominating against kids his own age, but Kerley is intimately familiar with the risks of playing football, and will no longer allow his son to play.

“At the end of the day, a father makes a decision based on the health and well-being of his children,” Kerley said, according to Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News. “That’s what he’s supposed to do. Just because I play football doesn’t mean that you should too. I’m looking out for his best interest. I’ve lived and learned this game is brutal. This game can hurt you. CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) can hurt you. If I can prevent him from that, that’s what I’m going to do.”