Former Green Bay Packers quarterback and football Hall of Famer Brett Favre announced that he has Parkinson’s disease during a congressional hearing on Tuesday about his alleged misuse of welfare funds in Mississippi.
Favre, who is 54, tied his diagnosis to multiple concussions he suffered during his football career. Research says that head injuries could be linked to the development of Parkinson’s disease and that those who play football are also more likely to develop it.
Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative and progressive condition in which parts of the brain become damaged and die, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.