Former NFL running back and television commentator Frank Gifford passed away last August, but today his family revealed that he had suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
In a statement released Wednesday, his family said that doctors confirmed that he did indeed have the brain disease.
"While Frank passed away from natural causes this past August at the age of 84, our suspicions that he was suffering from the debilitating effects of head trauma were confirmed when a team of pathologists recently diagnosed his condition."
The statement went on to explain that after his death, the family made the decision to have his brain studied “in hopes of contributing to the advancement of medical research concerning the link between football and traumatic brain injury.”
CTE is associated with head trauma and can cause memory loss, depression and dementia. Part of what Gifford’s fans and football historians remember about his playing career is the brutal hit he sustained from Chuck Bednarik during a game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Bednarik died in March and his family has said that he himself had Alzheimer's disease, suffered from dementia and attributed the injuries he got while playing football as a factor in his decline.
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