Is OJ Simpson the NFL’s Latest Concussion Casualty?

The world renowned doctor who Will Smith portrayed in the movie Concussion has said that he believes OJ Simpson suffers from the brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

“If you have a bigger head that means your head is heavier”, explains Omalu. The NY Daily News says that Simpson considered using CTE as part of his defense during his armed robbery and kidnapping case in 2008, but not during the infamous 1995 Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman murder trial.

In 2012, Simpson tried to convince a Clark County Nevada judge that he suffered from some sort of concussion-related brain damage.

Simpson is eligible for parole in 2017, but would be nearing his mid-90s if he’s forced to serve his entire sentence.

“Given his profile”, Omalu said about Simpson, “I think it’s not an irresponsible conclusion to suspect he has CTE”. In the document, Simpson stated that he sustained “numerous blows to my head and/or landed on my head violently” while playing in the National Football League and at USC. It has been diagnosed in almost 100 former National Football League players, many of which displayed violent and unpredictable temperaments as the condition – which only can be diagnosed postmortem – worsened toward the end of their life. J Simpson is suffering from it. Omula discovered CTE in the early 2000s while studying the brain of former football player Mike Webster, and Simpson’s erratic behavior matches the symptoms of the disease.

“Everybody who knows him knows there’s a problem there”, said Norman Pardo, Simpson’s former business manager.

In September 2007, Simpson was arrested in Las Vegas for armed robbery after attempting to steal sports memorabilia that he claimed belonged to him. While the players now playing are going through more protocols than ever before, players that have long since retired or are deceased didn’t have the same privilege of having the knowledge of head trauma that is out there.