Former NFL player Phillip Adams, who shot and killed a South Carolina doctor and multiple of his family members in April before committing suicide, had Stage 2 CTE.
Via NBCNews.com, Dr. Ann McKee of Boston University announced at a Tuesday news conference that Adams had “unusually severe[CTE] in both frontal lobes” of the brain, and that this possibly contributed to his “behavioral abnormalities.”
Adams played in the NFL from 2010 through 2015 with the 49ers, Patriots, Seahawks, Raiders, Jets and Falcons, a professional career that started after the NFL had its largely involuntary concussion epiphany, and after it became clear to anyone playing pro football that repetitive head trauma carries a real risk of long-term cognitive problems.
“As we process these results we are deeply saddened by the events that occurred on April 7 and we continue to pray for the families of the victims,” Adams’s family said in a statement. “We are pleased to have a better understanding of the mental turmoil that Phillip was dealing with during the last moments of his life. We cannot say that we are surprised by these results. However it is shocking to hear how severe his condition was. . . . We hope to bring awareness to this condition so players young and old can understand the risks. . . . Phillip is not the first to battle with this disease and he will not be the last.”
The science of chronic traumatic encephalopathy remains fairly new, and it’s still far from clear what it means to have it. Although former players like Adams and Aaron Hernandez suffered from it, many who did not commit criminal behavior had it, too.
While it’s important to understand the disease and its implications, there’s a balance to be struck. Some fear that they are essentially ticking time bombs, with serious issues inevitable -- sooner or later.
Regardless, at this point, the risks are clear. And the NFL continues to work to reduce the risk by striving for ways to make the game safer.
There’s only so much that can be done, of course. Football is still football. If the NFL ever makes the game so safe that it’s unrecognizable, someone else will launch a league that plays football the old-fashioned way. And plenty of players will willingly assume the risk and sign up.
