After troubled former NFL player Lawrence Phillips was found dead in his prison cell earlier this week, his family has decided to donate his brain to researches for a CTE study.
Family attorney Dan Chamberlain told USA Today that Phillips mother, Juanita, agreed to donate his brain to Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Program. The researchers handling the brain have been able to find signs of CTE in 88 of the 92 former NFL players they’ve examined after their passing.
According to the family’s attorney, Phillips’ mother initially refused to allow her son’s brain to be examined. However, her mind was changed once the benefits of allowing it were explained to her.
“She wanted an explanation about what happened, and I told her, ‘Look, the only way you can really explain it is by examining his brain,’ ” Chamberlain told USA Today. “I told her, ‘You owe it to your son, you owe it to every other NFL, college and pee wee and high school and middle school player that played football.’ ”
Should the research find traces of CTE, the family could be eligible for up to $5 million from the NFL concussion settlement. Money was apparently a factor in allowing the research to be done.
That being said, it may be tough to prove that the cases of CTE are from his time in the NFL due to his violent legal history. That could ultimately be used against a case for any funds from the settlement.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports