In February, Vincent Jackson was found dead in Florida in his hotel room after being reported missing. Following his death, tests were conducted to see if Jackson suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, commonly known as CTE, a brain disease that many football players have died from in the past.
It was recently confirmed that Jackson did indeed have CTE, and he was in stage 2 of the disease. Lindsey Jackson, his widow, gave a brief statement on the diagnosis.
“Vincent dedicated so much of his life to helping others,” Jackson said in a statement for the Concussion Legacy Foundation. “Even in his passing, I know he would want to continue that same legacy.”
Dr. Ann Mckee, chief of neuropathology for the VA Boston Healthcare System and director of the BU CTE Center and VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank, also released a statement on Jackson’s diagnosis.
“Vincent Jackson was a brilliant, disciplined, gentle giant whose life began to change in his mid-30s,” Dr. Mckee said. “He became depressed, with progressive memory loss, problem-solving difficulties, paranoia, and eventually extreme social isolation.”
Stage 2 CTE is associated with behavioral symptoms such as depression, paranoia, substance abuse, and impulsivity.
Phillip Adams, another former NFL player, was also diagnosed earlier in the week with Stage 2 CTE. In April, Adams shot and killed six people before then killing himself.
CTE has been found in the brains of more than 300 former NFL players.
