Dave Duerson played 11 years in the NFL with three different teams. Last week, he took his own life, fatally wounding himself in the chest with a shotgun blast. It was compelling that Duerson, who was battling bankruptcy, depression and an ex-wife who had just recently taken him back to court, gave one last gift to the world before committing suicide.
He gave away his brain.
Chris Nowinski, co-director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University School of Medicine, received a call from a friend of the Duerson family Thursday night. He made arrangements to have the brain prepped in time for research and sent to Boston University.
There currently are 65 brains in the bank and more than 300 athletes in the Center’s brain registry.
Yeah, so that’s depressing; no jokes here. After the jump is a little more on Chris Nowinski’s brain collection, as he was profiled by HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryan Gumbel” in 2010. If you have the time, it’s worth your time.
Part 1.
Part 2.
Part 3.
