Former Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas had stage 2 CTE, family says

Former Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas had stage 2 CTE, a form of brain degeneration that has been found in other athletes, his family announced Tuesday.

Thomas, 33, was found dead in his Georgia home in December. While the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office said a copy of his autopsy report was not ready for release, authorities previously said foul play was not suspected.

Katina Smith, Thomas’ mother, said her son started displaying changes, like isolation, before his death.

July 26, 201702:58

Stage 2 of the condition is often linked to progressive behavior as well as mood and cognitive abnormalities, the Concussion Legacy Foundation said Tuesday in a news release. In the years before Thomas died, he suffered from depression, anxiety, panic attacks and had trouble with his memory, according to the foundation.

“He was just so young, and it was horrible to see him struggle. His father and I hope all families learn the risks of playing football. We don’t want other parents to have to lose their children like we did,” Smith said in a statement.

Dr. Ann McKee, director of the Boston University CTE Center, said she hopes this is a wake-up call. The center diagnosed Thomas with CTE after his family agreed to donate his brain.

“The question I keep asking myself is ‘When will enough be enough?’ When will athletes, parents and the public at large stop ignoring the risks of American football and insist that the game be changed to reduce subconcussive hits and that the athletes be comprehensively evaluated at the beginning and end of every season?” McKee said in the statement.

Thomas’ cousin had said that the family believed his death was related to a seizure. LaTonya Bonseigneur said the football player had suffered seizures for more than a year before he died.

His personal driver found him after a concerned friend asked that someone check on Thomas.

The Concussion Legacy Foundation said seizures are often associated with late-stage CTE and believe Thomas developed post-traumatic epilepsy after a car accident and fall he experienced several years before he died.

The former wide receiver is among more than 300 former professional players diagnosed with CTE. Little is known about the condition, according to the Mayo Clinic. It can be diagnosed only through an autopsy because it requires evidence of degeneration of brain tissue.

The NFL has acknowledged that there is a link between CTE and the sport. In recent years it has overhauled its concussion protocols to impose stricter penalties and restrictions on players.