Doctors diagnose CTE in late BMX star Dave Mirra
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BMX legend Dave Mirra suffered from CTE before his death in February, multiple neuropathologists have confirmed, according to ESPN’s Alyssa Roenigk.
Mirra, who died at 41 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, becomes the first action sports athlete to be diagnosed with the disease that has been most notably linked with football.
CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, can induce depression, memory loss and dementia, and is believed to be caused by repeated head trauma. Mirra sustained multiple concussions throughout his successful BMX career and fractured his skull when he was hit by a car when he was 19 years old.
• Report: NFL health officials attempted to influence NIH brain study
Former NFL defensive end Bubba Smith was also recently diagnosed with CTE, becoming the 90th NFL player discovered to have had the disease.
On Monday, ESPN released a report showing that congressional investigators determined that the NFL attempted to influence a government study on football and brain disease.
