NFL Players Give Away Their Brains

Posted on Sep 14, 2009

Flickr / SteelCityHobbies

Recent autopsies on the brains of former football players showed that concussions cause a lot more brain damage than previously suspected. To contribute to a better understanding of the problem, three current and 40 retired NFL players have agreed to donate their brains to a program at Boston University.  —PS

AP via Yahoo:

The donations by Matt Birk of the Baltimore Ravens, Lofa Tatupu (LOH’-fuh tah-TOO’-poo) of the Seattle Seahawks and Sean Morey of the Arizona Cardinals were announced Monday. Morey says his donation will help improve the safety of retired and future athletes.

The players’ brains and spinal cord tissue will go to the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy so researchers can better understand the effects of concussions. More than 150 former athletes, including 40 retired NFL players, already are in the program’s brain donation registry.

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