Frank Gifford Had CTE: Family

The brain disease has been found in dozens of football players
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 25, 2015 2:40 PM CST
Frank Gifford Had CTE: Family
In this Sept. 15, 2013 file photo, former New York Giants player Frank Gifford looks on before an NFL football game between the New York Giants and the Denver Broncos in East Rutherford, NJ.   (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)

The family of Pro Football Hall of Famer Frank Gifford says signs of the degenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy were found in his brain after his death. In a statement released through NBC News on Wednesday, the family says Gifford suffered from unspecified "cognitive and behavioral symptoms" in his later years. He died of natural causes at his Connecticut home in August at age 84. His widow, Kathie Lee Gifford, is a host for NBC's Today.

The statement says that the family "made the difficult decision to have his brain studied in hopes of contributing to the advancement of medical research concerning the link between football and traumatic brain injury." CTE can be diagnosed only after death. It has been found in the brains of dozens of former players. (More chronic traumatic encephalopathy stories.)

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