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Earlier this week, an announcement came to the public that former National Football League (NFL) Hall of Fame running back, Tony Dorset was recently diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy. (CTE)

CTE is a degenerative brain disease that can lead to memory loss, depression, dementia and in extreme cases — suicide.  This was the tragic case with two former NFL stars Ray Easterling and Junior Seau who committed suicide in the spring of 2012—just weeks apart. Autopsies performed on both players confirmed that they showed signs of CTE.

CTE is the result of a traumatic brain injury, or suffering from repeated head trauma.  In the case of an NFL player, it would come from suffering multiple concussions during the course of a player’s career.

More than two months ago the NFL proposed a $765 million settlement to compensate retired players who filed NFL concussion lawsuits alleging the league was negligent in handling their head injuries.  Dorset was among the 4,500 players involved in the NFL concussion lawsuits.

Dealing with the long term side-effects and symptoms of a concussion has decreased the quality of life for Dorset and the other players named in the suit.

In addition to the large sum of money offered to the players, which will help cover some of their medical expenses,  he NFL will also donate $30 million to National institutes of Health.(NIH)  The donation  will help fund research designed to benefit athletes, members of the military as well as the general public.  

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