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Former NFL star Demaryius Thomas was diagnosed with Stage 2 chronic traumatic encephalopathy, his family said in a statement Tuesday, after doctors at Boston University’s CTE Center examined the former wide receiver’s brain.
Thomas was found dead at the age of 33 in December at his home in Roswell, Georgia, and although the cause of death has not been determined by the Fulton County, Georgia coroner’s office, his family attributed his death to seizures he suffered after a car accident in 2019
Thomas’ diagnosis involved “progressive behavioral, cognitive, and mood abnormalities.” The former NFL star developed depression, anxiety, panic attacks and memory problems in the year before his death. Stage 4 CTE, the most severe, is usually associated with dementia.
“Once I found out about CTE and started learning about the symptoms, I noticed that Demaryius was isolating himself and saw other changes in him,” Thomas’ mother, Katina Smith, said in the family’s statement. “He was so young and it was terrible to watch him struggle. His father and I hope all families learn the risks of football. We don’t want other parents to lose their children like we did.”
Smith and Bobby Thomas, the four-time Pro Bowler’s father, donated their son’s brain for research after the Concussion Legacy Foundation pitched the idea to the family. Anne McKee, a neuropathologist and director of BU’s CTE Center, was part of the research team that studied Thomas’ brain. According to the New York Times, McKee emphasized that Thomas had “two different conditions running parallel,” referring to his seizures and the CTE diagnosis. McKee, whose team has diagnosed more than 300 former NFL players with CTE, said seizures are usually not associated with early-stage CTE.
“Like so many who have gone before, we found Stage 2 CTE in Demaryius Thomas’ brain,” McKee said. “The question I keep asking myself is, ‘When will enough be enough?’ athletes to be fully evaluated at the beginning and end of each season?’
Thomas played for three teams during his 10 seasons in the NFL, but is best known for his nine years with the Denver Broncos, who drafted him out of Georgia Tech with the 22nd pick in the 2010 draft. He won a Super Bowl with the Broncos and was later traded to the Houston Texans during the 2018 season. After a brief stint with the New England Patriots the following preseason, Thomas finished his career with the New York Jets and retired in 2021, six months before his death.
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Athletes in a variety of sports, including football and hockey, are at risk of brain damage, but Thomas is the latest NFL player to be diagnosed with the degenerative brain disease. It has been found in the brains of Hall of Famers Willie Wood and Junior Seau, as well as Phillip Adams, the former NFL player who last year killed six people in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and was later diagnosed with Stage 2 CTE.
Chris Nowinski, a neurologist and CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, said Thomas’ diagnosis stands out because he is a recent retiree and several of his former teammates are still in the NFL. He said he hopes the news surrounding Thomas’ death and his parents’ donation will help convince team owners to implement more substantial safety measures and alert other players who may be experiencing similar symptoms.
“I was very disappointed with the reaction of the football community to this,” Nowinski said. “People can change. This is a completely preventable disease. For parents considering signing their kids up for 10-sport football this fall, this may be the case that makes them wait until high school to put on a helmet. … Maybe that sends a message to former players if they have symptoms.
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