Former New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles fullback Kevin Turner spent the last several years of his life bringing awareness to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, which doctors diagnosed him with in 2010.
But researchers at Boston University announced on Thursday that Turner, who died in March at just 46 years old, did not suffer from ALS but severe CTE, advanced further than researchers have previously seen in a player who died at such a relatively young age.
During a news conference, Dr. Ann McKee said an autopsy showed Turner had died of chronic traumatic encephalopathy; ALS and CTE can present similarly.