Legendary NFL quarterback Ken Stabler suffered from CTE, according to researchers.
Stabler had stage 3 CTE, according to Boston University researchers who studied his brain.
“He had moderately severe disease,” said Dr. Ann McKee, chief of neuropathology at the V.A. Boston Healthcare System and conductor of the examination, via John Branch of the New York Times. “Pretty classic. It may be surprising since he was a quarterback, but certainly the lesions were widespread, and they were quite severe, affecting many regions of the brain.”
Stabler’s partner, Kim Bush, confirmed that the former Raider had dealt with many of the symptoms of the disease late in life.
“On some days, when he wasn’t feeling extremely bad, things were kind of normal,” Bush said. “But on other days it was intense. I think Kenny’s head rattled for about 10 years.
“There were days when I walked in the door and looked at his face, and I could tell,” Bush continued. “He was sitting in his chair, because he was always waiting for me, and the news was on and whatnot, and he had his head laid back, and his eyes just scrunched up so tight that I used to think that would give you a headache in itself, just the pure pressure of squinting like that.”
Stabler also experienced sensitivity to noise and bright light, repeated himself, and lost his sense of direction. He was also very aware of the danger of concussions, and committed to donating his brain to science upon learning of Junior Seau’s death.
Stabler is just another in a long line of players to be diagnosed with CTE, and that doesn’t even include the high-profile former players who some doctors believe suffer from it.
