Former NFL quarterback Ken Stabler had brian disease CTE

News of Stabler’s diagnosis broke on National Signing Day.

“There is an urgency to this”, she said.

“There were days when I walked in the door and looked at his face, and I could tell”, (Stabler’s partner Kim) Bush said. “And it was, in fact, rattling”.

Perhaps Steelers receiver John Stallworth, also a Hall of Famer, put it best, telling Steadham: “Prior to my induction into the Hall of Fame, someone said that one consideration for Hall of Fame induction should be whether the story of the National Football League during a particular player’s tenure could be told without mentioning the player’s name”.

On a scale of 1 to 4, Stabler had high Stage 3 chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head, according to researchers at Boston University. One of them, Dr. Ann McKee, said the disease, which can be diagnosed only after death, was widespread throughout his brain, with “quite severe” damage to the regions involving learning, memory and regulation of emotion.

It’s not clear why some players develop the disease and others do not. But that’s no panacea, especially not for someone who played as long as he did. That’s what keeps players out of games. We know his career was cut short in large part due to protection issues, but what will his long-term outlook be? “It wasn’t until recently where the conversation was around CTE that we made that connection”. It’s link to the National Football League has been controversial because dozens of ex-professional football players have been shown to have struggled with CTE.

“There are a number of cases in people who never saw an athletic field”, he said. “The bigger question is what are we doing to combat the symptoms?” “As more players die and donate their brains, you’ll see more of it. Certainly I’m concerned about it”.

According to the New York Times article, his hearing would be different; although a music lover, he couldn’t stand the sound as C.T.E. affected his thought process. Dr. Bennett Omalu, who discovered CTE and was profiled in the movie, told ABC News this week that he is nearly certain that former Buffalo Bills star O.J. Simpson suffers from CTE and that this most likely influences his behavior. “We must take this science and invoke change and progress, for every athlete out there and for the great Ken Stabler”.

Stabler earned the nickname “the Snake” for his ability to scramble, zigging and zagging, to make improbable plays, something Steelers fans who were alive for those legendary games in the 1970s remember all too well.