Lawyer: Aaron Hernandez's Brain Showed 'Severe' Case Of CTE
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BOSTON (CBSMiami/AP) — Aaron Hernandez's lawyer announced that tests performed on the former New England Patriots tight end's brain following his suicide determined he suffered from an advanced case of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).
Attorney Jose Baez made the announcement at a press conference Thursday afternoon.
CTE can be caused by repeated head trauma and leads to symptoms like violent mood swings, depression and other cognitive difficulties.
Hernandez killed himself in April in the jail cell where he was serving a life-without-parole sentence for a 2013 murder. His death came just hours before the Patriots visited the White House to celebrate their latest Super Bowl victory.
CTE can only be diagnosed in an autopsy. A recent study found evidence of the disease in 110 of 111 former NFL players whose brains were examined.
CTE has been linked with repeated concussions and involves brain damage particularly in the frontal region that controls many functions including judgment, emotion, impulse control, social behavior and memory.
Hernandez's family has filed a federal lawsuit against the NFL and the New England Patriots. The lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Hernandez's daughter.
Baez said Boston University researchers said it was "the most severe case they had ever seen for someone of Aaron's age."
Hernandez suffered from stage three CTE, a level usually seen in brain trauma patients who are 67 years old. There are four stages of CTE.
Dr. Ann McKee, Professor of Pathology and Neurology at Boston University School of Medicine and Director of BU's CTE Center and Chief of Neuropathology performed the tests on Hernandez's brain.
A star for the University of Florida when it won the 2008 title, Hernandez dropped to the fourth round of the NFL draft because of trouble in college that included a failed drug test and a bar fight. His name had also come up in an investigation into a shooting.
In three seasons with the Patriots, Hernandez joined Rob Gronkowski to form one of the most potent tight end duos in NFL history. In 2011, his second season, Hernandez caught 79 passes for 910 yards and seven touchdowns to help the team reach the Super Bowl, and he was rewarded with a $40 million contract.
But the Patriots released him in 2013, shortly after he was arrested in the killing of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd, who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancée. Hernandez was convicted and sentenced to life in prison; the conviction was voided because he died before his appeals were exhausted, though that decision is itself being appealed.
A week before his suicide, Hernandez was acquitted in the 2012 drive-by shootings of two men in Boston. Prosecutors had argued that Hernandez gunned the two men down after one accidentally spilled a drink on him in a nightclub, and then got a tattoo of a handgun and the words "God Forgives" to commemorate the crime.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
