Former Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett reveals battle with dementia
Former Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett reveals battle with dementia
Former Dallas Cowboy running back Tony Dorsett revealed he is ‘in a battle’ with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) after being diagnosed.
Many scientists believe the brain disease is caused by head trauma.
Dorsett, 60, called his condition ‘frustrating’ and said he never realized ‘the end was going to be like this’.
Signs of CTE were detected in the Hall of Fame rusher after he underwent brain scans and clinical evaluations at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2013.
CTE is a degenerative condition that is characterized by dementia, aggression and depression.
Dorsett talked about how the condition has been affecting his life during an interview yesterday with Dallas radio station 1310 The Ticket, according to the Dallas Morning News.
He said: ‘I’m in a battle, obviously.
‘I got diagnosed with CTE and it’s very frustrating at times for me.
‘I’ve got a good team of people around me, my wife and kids, who work with me.
‘When you’ve been in this town for so long and I have to go to some place I’ve been going to for many, many, many years, and then all of a sudden I forget how to get there.’
Dorsett won the 1976 Heisman Trophy while playing for the University of Pittsburgh.
The 77-time touchdown scorer suited up for the Cowboys in the NFL for 12 seasons from 1977 to 1988 and he is the NFL’s eighth all-time leading rusher with 12,739 yards.
He was inducted into both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame in 1994.
Dorsett said he is ‘trying to get better’ and he has good days and bad days with the disease.
He added: ‘I signed up for this when, I guess, I started playing football so many years ago.
‘But, obviously, not knowing that the end was going to be like this.
‘But I love the game. The game was good to me. It’s just unfortunate that I’m going through what I’m going through.
‘I’m in the fight, man. I’m hoping we can reverse this thing somehow.’
CTE has been discovered in a number of deceased NFL players.
It was detected in the brains of Junior Seau and Dave Duerson, both of whom committed suicide.
