Lawrence Phillips’ family decided late Friday night to donate the brain of the former NFL and CFL running back to researchers studying traumatic brain jury, according to a USA Today report.
The imprisoned Phillips had been awaiting a trial which could have brought him the death penalty for the murder of his cell mate, but he was found unresponsive at Kern Valley State Prison early Wednesday. The California coroner’s office officially ruled the death of Phillips, who was 40, a suicide Friday afternoon.
Phillips’ brain will be sent to researchers at Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Program, where along with the Department of Veteran Affairs, they have identified CTE in the brain tissue of 88 out of 92 former NFL players they have examined posthumously, according to BU CTE Program spokesperson Maria Pantages Ober.
Dan Chamberlain, an attorney representing the Phillips family, said Juanita Phillips initially decided against donating her son’s brain to research, but reversed her decision in the hopes of receiving answers.
“She wanted an explanation about what happened, and I told her, ‘Look, the only way you can really explain it is by examining his brain,’ ” he said. “I told her, ‘You owe it to your son. You owe it to every other NFL, college, pee wee, high school and middle school player that played football.’ ”
Brain trauma injuries have been a significant focus of the NFL following the high-profile suicides of its former players that have included Junior Seau, Dave Duerson and Adrian Robinson. The investigation into the brain disease known as CTE became the focus of the movie “Concussion,” released last month.
Phillips rushed for 2,269 yards and 25 touchdowns during the 1994 and 1995 national championship seasons for Nebraska, performances which helped him become the sixth-overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft.
But his NFL career would last just three seasons during which he played for three teams and compiled just 1,453 rushing yards in 35 games.
— With AP