Cowboys Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett, longtime Giants All-Pro defensive end Leonard Marshall and Bills Hall of Fame offensive lineman Joe DeLamielleure are the latest former NFL players to have been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the degenerative condition scientists say is caused by head trauma and linked to depression and dementia, ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” reported.
The trio of gridiron heroes underwent brain scans and clinical evaluations the last few months at UCLA, according to ESPN.
Dorsett said he has trouble controlling his emotions and is prone to outbursts at his wife and daughters.
“I’ve thought about crazy stuff, sort of like, ‘Why do I need to continue going through this?’ ” he said. “I’m too smart of a person, I like to think, to take my life, but it’s crossed my mind.”
The 59-year-old former Cowboys running back and 1976 Heisman Trophy winner said when he took his Oct. 21 flight from Dallas to Los Angeles for testing, he was unable to remember why he was aboard the plane and where he was going. Moreover, Dorsett said he gets lost when he drives his two youngest daughters, ages 15 and 10, to their soccer and volleyball games.
“I’ve got to take them to places that I’ve been going to for many, many, many years, and then I don’t know how to get there,” he said.
Marshall played 10 seasons for the Giants, from 1983-92, then headed to the Jets for the 1993 season and the Redskins in 1994 before retiring. His hit knocked Joe Montana out of the NFC Championship Game following the 1990 season. The Giants went on the beat the 49ers, then the Bills in Super Bowl XXV.
More than 50 ex-NFL players — such as Hall of Fame center Mike Webster, who died at age 50, and linebacker Junior Seau, who committed suicide at age 43 in 2012 — were found to have CTE, according to doctors.
Researchers told the ESPN show they informed Dorsett on Monday they had diagnosed him with symptoms of the neurological disease. On ESPN’s “Dan LeBatard Is Highly Questionable” show, Dorsett acknowledged he had been tested at UCLA and received results: “I’m not going to say too much more about it … I’m trying to be proactive rather than reactive.”