Dallas Cowboys player who died by suicide diagnosed with brain disease

Dallas Cowboys player who died by suicide diagnosed with brain diseaseImage source, Getty ImagesByMadeline HalpertPublished19 minutes agoDallas Cowboys football player Marshawn Kneeland was suffering from stage 1 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) when he died by suicide last year, scientists said. Researchers at Boston University's CTE Center made the diagnosis through a postmortem brain tissue analysis of the defensive lineman, who died aged 24. "Unfortunately, I was not surprised to find CTE in the brain of Mr Kneeland, because we have found this progressive brain disease in nearly half of the athletes we've studied who have died before the age of 30," said the centre's director, Dr Ann McKee.Stage 1 is the mildest of CTE's four stages, where headaches and loss of attention or concentration are common symptoms. Research has shown that athletes such as footballers, rugby players and fighters like boxers have a significantly higher risk of developing CTE than the general population.The disease - which is caused by repeated blows to the head and can result in symptoms including depression and dementia - has been found in the brains of dozens of former National Football League (NFL) players. CTE can only be diagnosed after death. In its final stage, a person can experience severe cognition problems and memory loss as well as dementia, according to the CTE Society.In a statement, Kneeland's family said the diagnosis provided "important context" about some of the struggles he was facing. "We share this information to help people understand what NFL and other high-contact sport athletes might be struggling with," they said. "We continue to remember Marshawn with compassion for the person he was, rather than defining him by the final moments of his life."Kneeland died in November 2025, after a car chase with Texas State Troopers who said they tried to pull him over for a traffic violation. Police at the...