CTE Found in 92% of the Brains of Former NFL Players Studied by Boston University
By Ken Reed
Boston University’s CTE Center has reported finding Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in the brains of 345 of the 376 (91.7%) former NFL players they have studied to date.
CTE can only be diagnosed after the victims have died. Families that donate the brains of their loved ones to the CTE Center suspect CTE might have played a role in the symptoms their family member was dealing with before his/her passing. As such, there are selection biases associated with the CTE Center’s brain bank and the results of their study can’t be extrapolated to current and former NFL players. Nevertheless, researchers at the CTE Center say the high incidence of CTE in former NFL players is dramatically greater than the rate of CTE in the general public. For example, a 2018 study of brains donated to the Framingham Heart Study detected only one case of CTE out of 164 brain samples examined. And, of note, that single case of CTE was a former college football player.
The scientists at the CTE Center say “repetitive head impacts” are believed to be the top risk factor for the degenerative brain disease CTE. Hence, the high number of former football players diagnosed with the disease.
DeMaryius Thomas, a star wide receiver on the Denver Broncos 2015-2016 Super Bowl Champions was posthumously diagnosed with CTE last year. Thomas suffered from paranoia and erratic behavior during his final years, according to his parents.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans

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Episode #27 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Kids’ Sports: How We Can Take Back the Game and Restore Quality Family Time In the Process – Linda Flanagan is author of “Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids’ Sports and Why It Matters.” We discuss how commercialized and professionalized youth sports are hurting kids and their families.
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Media
"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- Reed Appears on Ralph Nader Radio Hour League of Fans’ sports policy director, Ken Reed, Ralph Nader and the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner discussed a variety of sports issues on Nader’s radio show as well as Reed’s updated book, How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan. Reed's book was released in paperback in February, and has a new introduction and several updated sections.
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Vanderbilt Sport & Society - On The Ball with Andrew Maraniss with guest Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director for League of Fans and author of How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
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