http://www.boston.com/sports/football/2013/01/10/junior-seau-had-brain-disease-cte/DFdexgzxJwED3MTB8f3VyO/story.htmlJunior Seau, one of the NFL’s best and fiercest players for nearly two decades, had a degenerative brain disease when he committed suicide last May, the National Institutes of Health told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Results of an NIH study of Seau’s brain revealed abnormalities consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
‘‘The brain was independently evaluated by multiple experts, in a blind fashion,’’ said Dr. Russell Lonser, who oversaw the study. ‘‘We had the opportunity to get multiple experts involved in a way they wouldn’t be able to directly identify his tissue even if they knew he was one of the individuals studied.’’
The NIH, based in Bethesda, Md., conducted a study of three unidentified brains, one of which was Seau's. It said the findings on Seau were similar to autopsies of people ‘‘with exposure to repetitive head injuries.’’
One of the reasons I'm not really an NFL fan. I follow the Pats, don't root against Washington, mostly out of loyalty. But the size of these guys, the speed, and the punishment they inflict make the game more of a snuff film than a sport.
