Ex-Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler had advanced stage of CTE

Ken Stabler, who is a senior candidate for this year’s Hall of Fame class, is the latest former player to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE.

“There was no question about the diagnosis”, Dr. Ann McKee of Boston University told ESPN in an interview Wednesday. The paper later reported that Earl Morrall, a two-time Super Bowl quaterback, was diagnosed with Stage 4 CTE.

McKee said the extent of the damage to Stabler’s brain was surprising because he was relatively young when he died and because he was a quarterback and thought to be less exposed to repeated head trauma.

A Mayo Clinic study released last fall found CTE in the brains of 21 of 66 men who played contact sports (mostly football), but no signs of the disease in the brains of 198 men who never played contact sports, the Times reported.

Stabler, a finalist in this weekend’s voting for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is one of the highest-profile ex-players to be diagnosed with the degenerative brain disease, and certainly the most well-known quarterback affected by it. Hall of Famer’s Junior Seau, Mike Webster and Frank Gifford also had CTE, which can only be diagnosed posthumously.

The doctor provided examples of former military members, people who have suffered from grand mal seizures, autistic children who rocked and banged their heads, abuse victims, and even people who were shot out of a cannon as part of a circus act. He began playing football at the age of 9, playing 15 seasons in the NFL with the Raiders, Houston Oilers, and New Orleans Saints from 1970-1984.

CTE has been found in the brains of 90 of 94 former National Football League players examined at Boston University. His brain was donated to a lab in Boston where it was examined.

“I just stay prayed up and pray that it doesn’t reach my son”, said Tracy Harris, whose son, Terrence will play for Jacksonville State next year. In recent years, however, the focus has been on pro football players, and the disease has acquired a new name, CTE.

One of the most prolific passers of his era, Stabler was named league MVP in 1974 and led the Raiders to a win in Super Bowl XI.

His longtime companion, Kim Bush, said he told her, “Yeah, I want to do that”.

The discovery is somewhat unusual in quarterbacks, but Stabler was known for being a scrambling quarterback and took more hits than players at the position usually did.

Atkinson said he has experienced memory loss and is seeing a neurologist.