Former New York Giants safety Tyler Sash was found dead Labor Day weekend after apparently overdosing on painkillers. He was just 27 years old and two years removed from playing in the NFL.
Following Sash’s death, his brother had indicated that the former Iowa star suffered at least five concussions during his 16 years of playing football.
Now comes this alarming report from Boston University and the Concussion Legacy Foundation regarding what was found after studies of Sash’s brain were conducted postmortem (via the New York Times):
“Dr. Ann McKee, chief of neuropathology at the V.A. Boston Healthcare System and a professor of neurology and pathology at the Boston University School of Medicine who conducted the examination, said Tuesday that the severity of the C.T.E. in Sash’s brain was about the same as the level found in the brain of the former N.F.L. star Junior Seau, who committed suicide in 2012 at age 43.”
This is absolutely stunning considering Sash played sparingly during his two-year NFL career with the Giants after starring for three years with Iowa.
For comparison’s sake, Seau played a total of 20 years in the NFL while starting 243 games during that span.
Doctors grade Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) on a severity scale from zero to four. Sash’s diagnosis came in at a two, something McKee indicated she has seen just once for an individual of Sash’s age.
CTE has been a major issue around the football world for years now. The suicides of former NFL players, including Seau, has brought this to the forefront of conversations surrounding the overall safety of the game.
And a newly released Hollywood hit movie “Concussion” starring Will Smith has brought this decades-long issue into the American lexicon.
The Sash family released the findings to the public on Monday, at which point his mother had this to say:
“My son knew something was wrong, but he couldn’t express it. He was such a good person, and it’s sad that he struggled so with this — not knowing where to go with it,” she said. “Now it makes sense. The part of the brain that controls impulses, decision-making and reasoning was damaged badly.”
It’s a sad reality facing those who have suffered multiple hits to the head while playing football. It also tells us a story of family members who struggle to grasp what is actually happening to those suffering through CTE.
Just recently, the medical field was able to start diagnosing CTE in living humans. Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett being the prime example of someone that continues to struggle through the day-to-day process of living with the disease.
While Sash isn’t as well known as others who suffer through this degenerative brain disease, his story is a sobering reality facing young athletes today.