Former New York Giants safety Tyler Sash was found to have high levels of C.T.E. in his brain when he died in September at 27 years old, according to Bill Pennington of the New York Times.
Sash was found dead after an accidental overdose of pain medication at his home in Iowa, and his grieving family was left with questions unanswered following his death. The former Giants safety was cut by the organization after suffering at least his fifth concussion in 2013 and returned to Iowa. Sash had bouts of "confusion, memory loss and minor fits of temper" after returning home, and family members were concerned with his irregular surprising behavior, according to Pennington.
Tyler's mother, Barnetta Sash, donated her son's brain to be tested for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (C.T.E.), a brain disease that has affected many former NFL players. Boston University and the Concussion Legacy Foundation diagnosed C.T.E in Sash's brain, as the disease can only be confirmed posthumously.
Dr. Ann McKee, chief of neuropathology at the V.A. Boston Healthcare System, conducted the examination and determined that the severity of the C.T.E in Sash's brain was around the same level of former NFL Hall of Famer Junior Seau, who committed suicide in 2012, according to Pennington. Both Sash and Seau were at stage 2 on the C.T.E severity scale that doctors grade from 0 to 4.
"My son knew something was wrong, but he couldn't express it," said Barnetta Sash, via The New York Times. "He was such a good person, and it's sad that he struggled so with this - not knowing where to go with it. Now it makes sense. The part of the brain that controls impulses, decisions-making and reasoning was damaged badly."
A study released in September showed 87 out of 91 former NFL players tested positive for brain disease, and although the league is trying to make the game less violent, it is clearly still an issue today.
