Former New York Giants player Tyler Sash was only 27 when he died from a reported overdose of pain killers. After his death, Sash’s mother had his brain tested for CTE, and Dr. Ann McKee told Thinkprogress she'd seen only “one other case of CTE this advanced in someone so young.”
In fact, says the report, Sash’s advanced statge of CTE is comparable to that of another deceased player who was 43 and had played for 19 seasons, while Sash had played in only 23 games. In that short time he suffered a reported five concussions before he was cut from the team, says the report.
At such a young age, Sash’s quality of life, before his death, had been seriously compromised. His mother told TP that after Sash returned home to Iowa his behavior became erratic, with “mood swings, memory loss, confusion, and an inability to focus.” Based on information by Mt Sinai’s TBI expert Dr.Wayne Gordon, it’s not surprising to learn “Sash was arrested for public intoxication.“ Not only is the described behavior consistent with damage to the “part of the brain that controls impulses, decision-making and reasoning,” but self-medicating with alcohol and other drugs is very common after brain injury.
Sash belongs to a growing group of NFL players and families who have been devastated by the effects of repeated concussions. But shamefully NFL’s guidelines, says TP, do not include compensation to Sash’s family for this intense suffering and death.
Insist NFL compensate the Sash family for the death of their son due to his confirmed, football-related CTE.
To NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell:
Dear Sir:
With the confirmation that Tyler Sash suffered from CTE, like the 87 out of 91 other deceased football players whose brains were tested posthumously, and the reported documentation of his concussions, there can be little, if any, doubt that Sash’s death, as well as the serious symptoms he suffered after his fifth concussion, are football-related.
No one who has not suffered the horrendously complicated and serious symptoms related to brain damage, or who are family members and friends who have been bewildered by the dangerous changes in their loved one, could possibly understand the trauma that all those touched by these brain-damaging conditions deal with.
It is deeply disturbing to lose a son or daughter, especially at such a young age, but to watch them slowly deteriorate, as often happens with CTE and other TBI cases, to lose them before they even die, is beyond heartbreaking.
Due to the seriousness of this disease and NFL’s failure for too long to acknowledge football’s role in creating and/or contributing to these deadly conditions, NFL should not hesitate to compensate this family for its suffering and loss.
We, the undersigned, therefore insist that NFL generously compensate the Sash family for their son's untimely death. This death and their loss could have and should have been prevented.
