NFL Player Marshawn Kneeland Cause of Death, CTE Diagnosis Confirmed

Months after Dallas Cowboys player Marshawn Kneeland died by suicide, researchers conducting the post-mortem analysis confirmed he suffered from CTE, a degenerative brain disease.

Marshawn Kneeland's Girlfriend Catalina Mancera Shares Message to Baby After NFL Star's Death

Heartbreaking new details are coming to light about Marshawn Kneeland's death.

After the Dallas Cowboys player died at age 24 last November, researchers who conducted a post-mortem brain analysis found he suffered from Stage 1 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) at the time of his death. They also confirmed his cause of death as suicide.

“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,” director of the Boston University CTE Center and chief of neuropathology for the VA Boston Healthcare System Dr. Ann McKee said in a July 7 press release. “Thanks to the generosity of our brain donor families, we now better understand the earliest stages of CTE, and it is bringing us closer than ever to diagnosing it during life.”

Noting that Kneeland played tackle football since the age of 7, the statement went on to explain how the degenerative brain disease—which occurs when repeated head injuries lead to the death of brain cells, per Mayo Clinic—is still a risk for football players despite modern safety precautions.

“Mr. Kneeland played in the modern era of concussion protocols and better helmets, and yet he still developed CTE,” Concussion & CTE Foundation CEO Dr. Chris Nowinski explained in the release. “We have no reason to believe the current generation is at a lower risk of CTE than previous generations.”

Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images

The NFL star took his own life in Texas on Nov. 6 after he was involved in a car chase with authorities, local officials shared at the time.

Though the athlete was suffering with CTE at the time of his death, medical professionals emphasized that the diagnosis was not a leading cause in the suicide.

“Suicide is complex and multifactorial,” the release added. “A post-mortem CTE diagnosis should not be considered the cause of a suicide and is not known to be a risk factor for suicide.”

Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images

Following the diagnosis, Kneeland’s family, including his girlfriend Catalina Mancera—who shares 3-week-old son Makhai with the late athlete—encouraged football fans to remember Kneeland for his life rather than the manner of his tragic death.

“While this diagnosis does not change the tragedy of his passing, it provides important context about some of the struggles he may have been facing,” they said in the July 7 statement. “We share this information to help people understand what NFL and other high contact sport athletes might be struggling with. Raising awareness is important to us.”

They added, “We continue to remember Marshawn with compassion for the person he was, rather than defining him by the final moments of his life. One Love.”

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