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NEW YORK -- A leading forensic pathologist told The New York Times that brain damage suffered by former NFL defensive back Andre Waters may have led to his depression and ultimately his suicide.
The forensic pathologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu of the University of Pittsburgh, told The Times that the condition of Waters' brain tissue was what would be expected in an 85-year-old man, and there were characteristics of someone being in the early stages of Alzheimer's. The doctor said he believes the brain damage had come from or had been quickened by successive concussions.
Waters was 44 when he died of a self-infliected gunshot wound on Nov. 20 in Tampa, Fla.
"No matter how you look at it, distort it, bend it," Omalu told The Times in a telephone interview, "it's the significant forensic factor given the global scenario."
If Waters had lived another 10 to 15 years, Omalu told The Times he believes "Andre Waters would have been fully incapacitated."
The NFL declined to comment specifically on the Waters case, The Times said, but the league has a traumatic brian injury committee that will begin studying retired players later this year regarding concussions and depression.
According to The Times story, written by Alan Schwartz, Chris Nowinski, a former Harvard football player and professional wrestler who has suffered a number of concussions, started the inquiry. He called the Waters family to request permission to use remaining parts of Waters' brain for testing. The family agreed and signed release forms in mid-December. Four pieces of Waters' brain were sent from the Hillsborough County, Fla., medical examiner's office to Pittsburgh for testing by Dr. Omalu.
On Jan. 4, tests came back and Dr. Omalu said the results were similar to that of an 80-plus-year-old Alzheimer's patient.
"Unfortunately, I'm not shocked," Dr. Julian Bailes, medical director for the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes and the chairman of the department of neurosurgery at West Virginia University, told The Times.
Waters was signed in 1984 by the Eagles as an undrafted free agent out of Cheyney State and played 10 seasons in Philadelphia. He finished his career with the Arizona Cardinals, whom he played for in 1994 and '95.
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The forensic pathologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu of the University of Pittsburgh, told The Times that the condition of Waters' brain tissue was what would be expected in an 85-year-old man, and there were characteristics of someone being in the early stages of Alzheimer's. The doctor said he believes the brain damage had come from or had been quickened by successive concussions.
Waters was 44 when he died of a self-infliected gunshot wound on Nov. 20 in Tampa, Fla.
"No matter how you look at it, distort it, bend it," Omalu told The Times in a telephone interview, "it's the significant forensic factor given the global scenario."
If Waters had lived another 10 to 15 years, Omalu told The Times he believes "Andre Waters would have been fully incapacitated."
The NFL declined to comment specifically on the Waters case, The Times said, but the league has a traumatic brian injury committee that will begin studying retired players later this year regarding concussions and depression.
According to The Times story, written by Alan Schwartz, Chris Nowinski, a former Harvard football player and professional wrestler who has suffered a number of concussions, started the inquiry. He called the Waters family to request permission to use remaining parts of Waters' brain for testing. The family agreed and signed release forms in mid-December. Four pieces of Waters' brain were sent from the Hillsborough County, Fla., medical examiner's office to Pittsburgh for testing by Dr. Omalu.
On Jan. 4, tests came back and Dr. Omalu said the results were similar to that of an 80-plus-year-old Alzheimer's patient.
"Unfortunately, I'm not shocked," Dr. Julian Bailes, medical director for the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes and the chairman of the department of neurosurgery at West Virginia University, told The Times.
Waters was signed in 1984 by the Eagles as an undrafted free agent out of Cheyney State and played 10 seasons in Philadelphia. He finished his career with the Arizona Cardinals, whom he played for in 1994 and '95.
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