Former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland was suffering from CTE at the time of his death, his family announced Tuesday.
Researchers from the Boston University CTE Center determined that Kneeland was suffering from stage 1 CTE, the lowest level on a scale of 1 to 4.
“Unfortunately, I was not surprised to find CTE in the brain of Mr. Kneeland, because we have found this progressive brain disease in nearly half of the athletes we’ve studied who have died before the age of 30,” Dr. Ann McKee, director of the Boston University CTE Center, said, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “Thanks to the generosity of our brain donor families, we now better understand the earliest stages of CTE, and it is bringing us closer than ever to diagnosing it during life. My team and I are fully dedicated to finding effective treatments and a cure for CTE.”
Kneeland died last November of a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a police chase. Police had initially responded to a call expressing concern over his welfare.
Kneeland is one of a number of former NFL players who have been diagnosed with the brain injury following their deaths. CTE is only diagnosable after death.
