BOSTON — Boston University researchers will study Aaron Hernandez’s brain to determine if the former NFL star suffered from the same degenerative brain disease as Hall of Famer Junior Seau and former Bears defensive back Dave Duerson, who also took their own lives.
Hernandez hanged himself in prison early Wednesday, days after winning an acquittal in a 2012 double homicide case. He was already serving a life term in a 2013 killing.
After a brief public dispute between Massachusetts authorities and Hernandez’s family, the former Patriots tight end’s brain was released to BU’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center.