Another NFL Victim of Brain Trauma?

Former NFL linebacker Junior Seau commits suicide. Is head injury-induced dementia to blame?

Written byJef Akst

| 2 min read

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Junior SeauWIKIMEDIA COMMONS, JJ HALL

Former Pro Bowl linebacker Junior Seau died yesterday (May 2) from what police are calling a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. The tragedy makes Seau, who played for the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, and New England Patriots during his career, the third former-NFL player to commit suicide in the last 15 months. Speculation is swirling that Seau's death, like the other two suicides, might all be linked to the head injuries the players enduring during their years on the football field.

Former Atlanta Falcon Ray Easterling and former Chicago Bear Dave Duerson also shot themselves recently, and both were suspected to have symptoms of dementia. Duerson even requested that his brain be used for research, and after his death, researchers at the Boston ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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