49ers Legend Joe Montana Talks About Concussions He's Suffered
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Just days before Super Bowl 50, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana talks about the concussions he's suffered during his football career.
Montana discusses the seriousness of concussions following the discovery that former Oakland Raiders player Ken Stabler, who died in 2015, was posthumously diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
CTE is a progressive degenerative brain disease found in athletes and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma.
Montana weighed in on the concussion and CTE issue saying, "I think it's a big concern for everyone."
"The last concussion hurt. It was like a lightning bolt went through my head," Montana said, describing the blow that made him decide to end his football career.
The researcher who conducted the study on Stabler said she was surprised by the number of CTE lesions in his brain.
Dr. Ann McKee, a professor of neurology at Boston University, told KCBS that the disease was very prevalent in Stabler's amygdala and hippocampus – areas of the brain "extremely important for learning and memory and emotional regulation."
More on Stabler's posthumous CTE diagnosis can be found here.
Additional coverage about concussions suffered by the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos this season can be found here.
By Hannah Albarazi - Follow her on Twitter
