MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry suffered from a chronic brain injury that may have influenced his mental state and behavior before he died last winter, West Virginia University researchers said Monday.
The doctors had done a microscopic tissue analysis of Henry’s brain that showed he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Neurosurgeon Julian Bailes and California medical examiner Bennet Omalu, co-directors of the Brain Injury Research Institute at WVU, announced their findings alongside Henry’s mother, Carolyn Henry Glaspy, who called it a “big shock” because she knew nothing about her 26-year-old son’s underlying condition or the disease.
Henry died in December, a day after he came out of the back of a pickup truck his fiancee was driving near their home in Charlotte, N.C. It’s unclear whether Henry jumped or fell. Toxicology tests found no alcohol in his system, and an autopsy concluded he died of numerous head injuries, including a fractured skull and brain hemorrhaging.
But Bailes, team doctor for the Mountaineers and a former Pittsburgh Steelers physician, said it’s easy to distinguish those acute traumatic injuries from the underlying condition he and Omalu found when staining tiny slices of Henry’s brain.
Bailes believes chronic traumatic encephalopathy is caused by multiple head impacts, regardless of whether those blows result in a concussion diagnosis. A number of studies, including one commissioned by the NFL, have found that retired professional football players may have a higher rate than normal of Alzheimer’s disease and other memory problems.
What’s interesting, Bailes said, is that Henry was just 26, and neither NFL nor WVU records show he was diagnosed with a concussion during his playing career.
NFL to review Lions president
DETROIT — The NFL will review the conduct of Detroit Lions president Tom Lewand, who was cited over the weekend for drunken driving after telling authorities he was a designated driver picking up a friend before a test showed his blood-alcohol level was twice Michigan’s legal limit. Lewand was arrested late Friday after his Lincoln sport utility vehicle was seen crossing from one lane to another after leaving a bar’s parking lot in Denton Township, Mich.
Police interview Vick
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Michael Vick was interviewed by a detective Monday about a shooting that took place outside a nightclub where he had celebrated his birthday, a Virginia Beach Police spokesman said.
The spokesman, Adam Bernstein, said the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback is not a suspect, and no arrest has been made in Friday’s early morning shooting. One man was wounded.
“He said he wasn’t involved, he was gone before the shooting took place, and he doesn’t know who did the shooting,” said Vick’s lawyer, Larry Woodward.
Police have not identified the shooting victim, but several news outlets identified him as Quanis Phillips, one of the co-defendants in the dogfighting case that landed Vick in federal prison for 18 months. A hospital spokesman confirmed that Phillips was admitted to the hospital Friday morning and discharged that afternoon.
Colon injures Achilles
PITTSBURGH — Steelers right tackle Willie Colon has injured his right Achilles’ tendon while working out at the team’s practice complex.
If the tendon is torn, Colon is likely to require surgery that would end his season. Director of football operations Kevin Colbert said Colon was being evaluated by the team’s medical staff. Colon left the team’s practice building Monday on crutches.
NFL to have cartoon
NEW YORK — The NFL’s players and coaches will lend their voices to a series of short cartoons for Nickelodeon’s Nicktoons channel. The 22 episodes, which will each run 2 to 5 minutes, will air weekly during the NFL season from September to February.
Giants’ Jones improving
NEW ORLEANS — The father of New York Giants rookie safety Chad Jones says his son is in good spirits and that his injured left leg and foot are looking better.
In a statement released by LSU, Al Jones says a long healing process is only beginning, but adds that “everything is positive right now” with Chad Jones’ recovery from a serious auto wreck early Friday morning.
The 21-year-old Jones was the Giants’ third-round draft choice in April.
Police are still investigating Friday’s single-car accident in which Jones’ SUV rolled into a street car line pole.
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