Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers catcher Vincent Jackson suffered from the degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) when he passed away earlier this year at the age of 38his family said last Thursday.
Lindsey Jackson, the former player’s widow, said in a statement that she was releasing the results of the brain scan of her late husband in order to raise awareness of CTE.
“Vincent dedicated a large part of his life to helping others. Even in his passing, I know that he would want to continue that same legacy. There is still much to understand about CTE, and education is the key to prevention,” he said Jackson.
Jackson, three-time Pro-Bowler during a 12-season NFL career, was found dead in a hotel room in Florida in February of this year.
“The conversation around this topic needs to be more frequent, and our family hopes that others will feel comfortable and supported in talking about ETC in the future,” he added.
At the time of his death, he suffered from chronic alcoholism and other health problems.
In an interview with the ‘New York Times’, widow Lindsey Jackson said her husband had shown signs of ETC since 2016, the last year of his NFL career.
CTE, which cannot be tested in living people, is a degenerative brain disease caused by repetitive head trauma.
It has been linked to a number of behavioral symptoms including aggression, impulsivity, explosiveness, depression, anxiety, paranoia, and suicidal tendencies, as well as progressive cognitive symptoms such as memory loss.
Ann McKee, director of the Boston University ETC Center, who led the exam, He said the Jackson case highlighted the need to make the grid safer at all levels of the sport.
“Vincent Jackson He was a bright, disciplined, and kind giant whose life began to change in his mid-30s. He became depressed, with progressive memory loss, trouble solving problems, paranoia, and eventually extreme social isolation, “McKee said, adding that the diagnosis of CTE in NFL players had become” common. ” .
“What is surprising is that so many football players have died with ETC and that so little is done to make football, at all levels, safer by limiting the number of repetitive subconcussional blows,” he added.
Thursday’s announcement comes after it was revealed Tuesday that Another NFL player, Phillip Adams, suffered from an unusually severe CTE when he killed six people in April before committing suicide.
Jackson began his career with the then San Diego Chargers in 2005 after being selected in the second round of the draft. He earned Pro-Bowl selections in 2009, 2011 and 2012.
He joined Tampa Bay in 2012 and played his last game for the club in 2016 after suffering a knee injury.
