Former NFL star Demaryius Thomas has been diagnosed with Stage 2 chronic traumatic encephalopathy, his family said in a statement Tuesday, after doctors at Boston University’s CTE Center studied the former wide receiver’s brain. Thomas was found dead at age 33 in December at his home in Roswell, Ga., and while the cause of death has not been determined by the Fulton County, Ga., medical examiner’s office, his family attributed his death to seizures, the which he suffered after a car accident in 2019. Thomas’ diagnosis is related to “progressive behavior, cognitive abnormalities, and mood disorders.” The former NFL star developed depression, anxiety, panic attacks and memory problems in the year before he died. Stage 4 CTE, the most severe, is usually associated with dementia. “Once I became aware of CTE and became familiar with the symptoms, I noticed that Demaryius was isolating himself and saw other changes in him,” Thomas’ mother, Katina Smith, said in the family’s statement. “He was so young and it was horrible to watch him struggle. His father and I hope all families learn the dangers of playing football. We don’t want other parents to have to lose their children like we did.” Smith and Bobby Thomas, the four-time Pro Bowler’s father, donated their son’s brain to research after the Concussion Legacy Foundation pitched the idea to the family. Ann McKee, a neuropathologist and director of BU’s CTE Center, was part of the research team that studied Thomas’ brain. According to the New York Times, McKee emphasized that Thomas had “two different conditions running parallel,” referring to his seizures and the CTE diagnosis. McKee, whose team has diagnosed more than 300 former NFL players with CTE, said seizures are generally not associated with early-stage CTE. “Like so many that have gone before, we found Stage 2 CTE in Demaryius Thomas’ brain,” McKee said. “The question I keep asking myself is, ‘When will enough be enough?’ When will athletes, parents and the general public stop ignoring the dangers of American football and insist that the game be changed to reduce concussions and that athletes be thoroughly evaluated at the beginning and end of each season?” Thomas played for three teams during his 10 NFL seasons, but is best known for his nine years with the Denver Broncos, who selected him out of Georgia Tech with the 22nd pick in the 2010 draft. He won a Super Bowl with the Broncos and was later traded to the Houston Texans during the 2018 season. After a brief stint with the New England Patriots the following preseason, Thomas finished his career with the New York Jets and retired in 2021, six months before his death. Bruce Murray spent years heading the ball. He worries that it took a toll. Athletes in various sports, including football and hockey, are at risk of brain damage, but Thomas is the latest NFL player to be diagnosed with the degenerative brain disease. It has been found in the brains of Hall of Famers Willie Wood and Junior Seau, as well as Phillip Adams, the former NFL player who last year killed six people in Rock Hill, SC, and was later diagnosed with Stage 2 CTE. Chris Nowinski, a neuroscientist and CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, said Thomas’ diagnosis stands out because he was recently retired and several of his former teammates are still in the NFL. He said he hopes news of Thomas’ death and his parents’ donation will help convince team owners to implement more effective safety measures and alert other players who may be experiencing similar symptoms. “I’m very disappointed in the football community’s response to this,” Nowinski said. “People can change. This is a completely preventable disease. For parents considering enrolling their kids in tackle football at 10 this fall, this may be the case that makes them wait until middle school to wear a helmet. … Maybe he’s sending a message to former players if they have symptoms.”
