Ex-NHL player Chris Simon's family is revealing the tragic details surrounding his sudden passing ... confirming the 52-year-old took his own life, and they believe it was the result of CTE.
The former enforcer's loved ones released a statement via his former agent Paul Theofanous on Wednesday ... saying they saw Simon show strong signs of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a brain disease caused from concussions and traumatic head injuries.
"The family strongly believes and witnessed firsthand, that Chris struggled immensely from CTE which unfortunately resulted in his death," the statement read.