. >> former nfl tight in ben utecht told the senate aging committee that has caps in his memory after suffering numerous concussions while playing sports. the committee examined the link between sports injuries and packing the rent and whether the lead to aging diseases like alzheimer's. other witnesses included researchers. this hearing is an hour and 25 minutes. >> a good afternoon. today we're going to have to be a little creative because we're going to have a series of votes at 2:30. so what i'll do is recess the committee, and will go over and vote until the very last vote, and we will cast the vote that the very beginning of the last vote and then race back over here so that we can continue the hearing. there's also some breaking news just an hour ago. the nfl agreed to eliminate

. >> and it's my pleasure to introduce ben utecht, who is a former nfl tight end for the cincinnati bengals and the indianapolis colts. and if i recall, you were on one of those teams that went into the playoffs, and perhaps you can tell us the rest of that story. and dr. jacob vanlandingham is the director of neurobiological research at tallahassee memorial hospital, and he is a professor at florida state university's college of medicine. so what we will do, we will start with you, mr. nowinski, and just go right down the list , what you're written statements is entered into the record. so if you which is share with us for a few minutes, and then we'll get into questions. mr. nowinski. >> thank you for the wonderful introduction, senator warren. chairman nelson, ranking member collins and members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to speak today. my name is chris nowinski. founding executive director of the sports legacy institute, a nonprofit dedicated to solving the sports concussion crisis through advocacy, education, policy and research. i have a personal relationship with con