Former NFL player and convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez committed suicide in his jail cell in April 2017. His brain was studied and it was discovered that he suffered from a severe form of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE at just 27-years-old. A recent study showed that 110 out of 111 players examined suffered from the degenerative brain disease. Several former players filed and won a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the league, but a no-fault stipulation was included as the NFL continues to fight against CTE findings.

During an episode of "First Things First" on FS1, an emotional Cris Carter discussed his fear about what's going to happen to the many kids he's trained to play football, and about his own future. Carter noted that sports gives a lot of black men opportunities that they wouldn't have otherwise. Carter says he doesn't know where his life would be without football.

"For me the CTE thing is real, but also in America, what other choice does a black man have that's better than the National Football League?" said Carter.

Carter encouraged young people to still play, noting that the game is safer now than it's been before. He says although there's some drawbacks, what else can they do? Carter says he's conflicted but he's willing to suffer the consequences because of what the game has done for him.

CTE, which is found in athletes who play contact sports, includes symptoms like disorientation, memory loss, aggression, impulsive behavior, dementia, suicide, and more.