BMX legend Dave Mirra had CTE at time of suicide

Multiple neuropathologists have confirmed that BMX legend Dave Mirra had CTE at the time of his suicide in February.

One of the more tragic stories in sports this year has been the suicide of BMX legend Dave Mirra. After a career of paving the way for BMX and being one of the legends of the X Games, Mirra died from a self-inflected gunshot wound.

His death has also brought forward an interesting find that has been come to the forefront of other sports, namely the NFL, and that is chronic traumatic encephalopath, otherwise known as CTE.

According to ESPN The Magazine senior writer Alyssa Roenigk, multiple neuropathologists have confirmed that Mirra was suffering from CTE at the time of his death. That makes him the first athlete from action sports to be diagnosed with CTE and it will lead to further questions about the safety of the variety of action sports that take place.

In the interview, Dr. Lili-Naz Hazrati says that there were no differences between Mirra’s brain and the brains of other athletes that had been diagnosed with CTE.

"“I couldn’t tell the difference,” she said. “The trauma itself defines the disease, not how you got the trauma.”The trademark tau protein deposits were found in the frontal and temporal lobes of Mirra’s brain.“It’s assumed it is related to multiple concussions that happened years before,” she said."

Mirra’s death was a tragic moment for everyone that knew him and all the people that he had inspired to take up action sports. His influential moments in the X Games will forever live in the memories of everyone who watched and he will be posthumously honored this year.

While his death was a sad moment for all, it has provided a breakthrough for research on a deadly condition that can be helpful in the fight against it going forward.

For more X Games coverage, be sure to visit our hub page.