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Why Kevin Turner's parents still watch football

The late former Eagles running back Kevin Turner's years-long battle with chronic traumatic encephalopathy is the subject of a feature on this week's episode of HBO's "Real Sports."

The late Eagles running back Kevin Turner's years-long battle with chronic traumatic encephalopathy is the subject of a feature on this week's episode of HBO's "Real Sports."

You might think that Turner's brain damage, which evidence showed was tied to playing football, would have compelled his parents to turn away from the sport that made their son famous. As the New York Times' Juliet Macur wrote Sunday, it has not. In fact, it has not at all.

As Myra Turner watched the Dallas Cowboys play the Packers last weekend, she saw a TV camera stop on the former Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith, who was celebrating and grabbing his seatmate, Tony Dorsett, another Cowboys alumnus.

Dorsett, who has said he has memory loss and other signs of C.T.E., didn't look right.

"He didn't even crack a smile," Myra said. "He was just sitting there and I thought, 'Wow, how can he sit there with no emotion at all?' Then I realized, oh, yeah, I do know why.' "

The Turners grew up in this state [Alabama], where football is king, a rite passed from fathers to sons. Raymond played, then coached Kevin.

"I'm a guy, so I love football - the hitting, the running, the scoring, the girls," Raymond said, before Myra cut him off.

"And I was a cheerleader!" she said. "I was the only girl you're talking about, right?"

By their smiles and giggles, you could tell football once brought them unquestionable joy, long before anyone had heard of C.T.E. - or even took concussions seriously.

Click here to read the full story. It's long, but worth the time. Click below to watch a piece of the "Real Sports" feature.