Tragic case in the USA: Former NFL star Vincent Jackson († 38) was found dead in a hotel room in February this year. The sad cause of death is now known. This is reported by several US media unanimously.
The athlete died of “chronic alcohol consumption,” according to the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office in the autopsy report released on Wednesday. His family later told authorities they believe he suffered from alcoholism. The coroner classified the death as “natural.”
Jackson suffers from “football illness” CTE
The autopsy report also noted that Jackson suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, better known as CTE. For a long time it was known only as Boxer’s Syndrome, then as Footballer’s Disease. It is triggered by repeated blows to the head. The symptoms range from depression and aggression to memory and speech disorders and often only appear years or decades following the end of a career.
His family announced last week that Jackson had stage 2 CTE at the time of his death. Stage 4 is the most severe stage. His widow, Lindsey, told the New York Times last week that her late husband used alcohol to cope with the lingering side effects of the head trauma. She told the newspaper Jackson said his brain sometimes felt “foggy” and that alcohol helped him cope.
