If the name Chris Borland doesn't ring a bell, don't be miffed at yourself. It may not be an important name in the annals of history, but he was one of the first.
Borland, at the age of 24, decided to hang up his cleats in 2015 and retire early from the San Francisco 49ers, citing a fear of long term health issues.
At the time, many fans and pundits scoffed at the idea that other major athletes would follow in his cautious footsteps.
Borland, recollecting at his decision, gave many of us the first indication of a sign of the new times.
"An old adage is that you play till the wheels fall off," Borland told the Detroit Free Press. "You play till you can't anymore. You have to be carried off the field. I think that'll change."
Borland's decision was followed just a bit more than a year later by A.J. Tarpley of the Buffalo Bills, who at the age of 23, decided he'd had enough of the spotlight and the fanfare.
He wanted to enjoy the rest of his life.
"After months of introspection, I am retiring from football," Tarpley wrote. "I suffered the third and fourth concussions of my career this past season and I am walking away from the game I love to preserve my future health."
We've seen more than a few athletes decide to walk away early.
Husain Abdullah played seven years in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs. He too walked away citing the numerous concussions he'd suffered in his career.
Like it or not, the dialogue is shifting.
The conversation is starting.
Athletes, who we as fans look up to and revere for their toughness, dominance and strength on the field, the diamond or the race car, are now showing more mental toughness, more personal dominance and more emotional strength to know when it's time to walk away.
"There was a lot of time in there during the recovery, where there were days where I was 90 percent sure I wasn't going to drive again," Earnhardt said before the Daytona 500. "I couldn't put one foot in front of the other without falling over like a drunk driving test. I couldn't take one step without having to step to the right or step to the left to catch myself."
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will be remembered for a great many things as a NASCAR driver.
His best result - in my mind - will be the victory lap he gets to take knowing he might have saved himself from even greater damage to his body, his mind, his family, his will and his spirit by knowing there is something far more important than random adulation from fans and spectators.
Those people cannot guarantee his longterm health.
But he can, and maybe, quite likely, he just did.
"I just wanted to be able to make that decision myself on retiring and not have it made for me," Earnhardt said. "I feel healthy."
Earnhardt's announcement of his retirement may have just made it a little easier for more athletes to come forward and express their concerns about the overwhelming amount of research that shows the longterm health issues related to brain injuries.
Fans admire athletes for their physical feats.
I admire people -- athletes included -- for being good.... to themselves and others.
The research is still going on. The discussion will continue.
#TheMissionToCivilize