Riley Brennan
Co-Editor In Chief
Aaron Hernandez, convicted murder, and former NFL tight end, who committed suicide April, has been found to have suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), following recent examinations by scientists at Boston University.
The examination of his brain found that the damage inflicted by CTE was similar to the damage found in a person in there 60’s, while Hernandez was only 27. The Hernandez-family attorney made the announcements that the scientists involved had declared Hernandez was “the most severe case” they’d seen in someone so young.
As an increasing number of players are diagnosed with CTE, the NFL continues to face backlash, facing accusations of hiding the truth of the dangers of the sport from the players, fans and public alike. Mr. Hernandez’s estate has filed a lawsuit against the league on the grounds that the NFL, as well as his former team the Patriots, knew about the correlation between inflicted head trauma and brain disease, but choose not to supply enough protection or information. The lawsuit filed seeks to compensate Hernandez’s daughter for the loss of her father.
Hernandez had just been acquitted for the 2012 murder of two men, making his shocking suicide only days later, all the more confusing. However, suicide is not uncommon among those who have CTE, which further calls Hernandez’s behavior and actions into question. Multiple former NFL players who were diagnosed with CTE have committed suicide, making this a fairly familiar public relations issue for the league. This is not the only controversy the NFL has had to shoulder in the past few weeks, as outraged and supportive fans alike, loudly express their opinions toward the support, and lack thereof, from the league during the National Anthem at football games across the country on Sunday, Sept. 24.
