Fansided

Ex-New York Giants Tyler Sash had CTE when he died

By Daniel Yanofsky

Aug 14, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Detailed view of a New York Giants helmet on the sidelines in a preseason NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 14, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Detailed view of a New York Giants helmet on the sidelines in a preseason NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Studies show former New York Giants safety had CTE, the degenerative disease that has plagued several players

Concussions in the NFL can take a brutal toll on a player. Many side effects can come from the dangerous hits, most notably, chronic traumatic encephalopathy. After months of tests, it turns out CTE has claimed another victim. Announced by a report in The New York Times, former New York Giant Tyler Sash, who passed away on September 8th due to an overdose of pain medications, suffered from severe C.T.E.

Tyler Sash was drafted in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Giants. Sash only played two seasons for the team, including a few appearances in their 2011 Super Bowl playoff run. He was cut by the team before the opener of the 2013 season. Before that, he played for the Iowa Hawkeyes in college. During his time playing football, he had at least five concussions.

According to the New York Times article, after testing Sash’s body, the chief of neuropathology at the V.A. Boston Healthcare System Dr. Ann McKee made an interesting discovery. She came to the conclusion that Sash’s brain was on par with newly inducted Hall of Famer Junior Seau, who in 2012 committed suicide at the age of 43. Sash’s severity scale of CTE was at Stage 2, in a scale of 1 to 4. That number is very rare for players that young.

In regards to the further correlation between football and CTE, McKee stated:

"“Even though he was only 27, he played 16 years of football, and we’re finding over and over that it’s the duration of exposure to football that gives you a high risk for CTE Certainly, 16 years is a high exposure.”"

It was mentioned by Tyler’s wife that he was going through some changes. His memory was deteriorating, he kept on being unreasonable and would often have random fits of rage. For someone that young to be going through all of that, with nobody understanding how you feel, must have been a tough time.

If you haven’t already seen it, Will Smith’s movie Concussion shows how devastating this disease can be. His take on Dr. Bennet Omalu, who first discovered that CTE was real and out there, was brilliantly done. It is very unfortunate that this continues to be an issue, and maybe if Tyler was treated earlier (the same could be said for other players), things might have been different.

Home/New York Giants