Getty Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau took his life in May 2012.
ESPN’s “30 for 30” documentary Seau, documenting the life and demise of NFL great Junior Seau, will make its television premiere on Tuesday, April 16, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
If you’re looking to watch Seau or any other “30 for 30” documentary online, you can watch it on ESPN+, the digital streaming service from ESPN that includes live sporting events the complete “30-for-30” library, including Seau.
You can start a free trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch the documentary on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
‘Seau’ Preview
Seau is remembered as one of the greatest football players of all time, earning 12 Pro Bowl nods, eight All-Pro first team selections, the 1992 Defensive Player of the Year award, and a posthumous induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Hours after a domestic violence arrest in October 2010, his SUV veered off a 100-foot cliff with him in the driver’s seat. The former linebacker and San Diego Chargers great said he fell asleep at the wheel. He wasn’t charged for the domestic violence incident, which friends and family described as out of character.
Less than two years later, the Oceanside, California, native took his life by shooting himself in the chest.
His family donated his brain to the National Institutes of Health, which found definitive signs of CTE.
“I had done a lot of reporting on concussions and CTE in the NFL while I was the showrunner for the HBO show Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” the film’s director Kirby Bradley wrote on ESPN.com. “CTE is a brain disease caused by blows to the head, and at that time, researchers were finding it in the brains of more and more NFL players who had died. Seau was, by far, the most famous of these players, and I knew I had to tell his story.
“I didn’t set out to explain CTE, or to blame anyone for Junior’s death. It’s clear now that NFL players put themselves at risk, as do hockey players, boxers, soccer players and others. I feel as long as the athletes are informed of all the scientific and medical information available, it’s their choice whether to participate or not. But I felt Junior’s story would illustrate the human side of CTE, and how it impacts the lives of players, as well as their families and friends.
“Junior Seau would have been voted the NFL player least likely to commit suicide – he just seemed to love life too much. But he did. And it’s worthwhile looking at how and why his life spiraled downward.”
The documentary features interviews with Seau’s friends and family, as well as with current and former NFL players like Drew Brees, Rodney Harrison, Orlando Ruff, Aaron Taylor, Hank Bauer, and Gary Plummer.
“I personally think that awareness of CTE is Junior’s biggest legacy,” friend Bette Hoffman said, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
She said of the film: “It’s very powerful and very sad.”