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Former NFL star Dez Bryant shared his pain and heartbreak after learning that Demaryius Thomas suffered from CTE before his untimely passing last year.
The Denver Broncos Super Bowl champ passed away in December 2020, with his parents recently revealing that he had a seizure disorder that led to cardiac arrest. The Thomases also donated his brain to research, in which it was discovered that he had Stage 2 Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE.
Bryant didn't hold back as he shared his thoughts on the matter, adding that a lot of NFL players are living with CTE and the league knows it. However, a lot of them are afraid to speak out.
“DT88 my heart weak bro… it’s a lot of us living with CTE and the NFL know it…most importantly the Athletes who have those symptoms are scared to speak… 1 thing about me ain’t living no false life…my love and support for athletes are on a much deeper level than most…” Dez Bryant wrote on Instagram.
For what it's worth, Demaryius Thomas' mother shared her hope that what happened to her son will serve as a cautionary tale to all NFL players about the risk of playing football. While the sport is a lucrative business, it has become quite clear over the years that it comes with a lot of health and injury risks not only during their playing careers but even after.
“Once I became aware of CTE and began to familiarize myself with the symptoms, I noticed that Demaryius was isolating himself and I saw other changes in him,” Thomas' mother, Katina Smith, said. “He was just so young, and it was horrible to see him struggle. His father and I hope all families learn the risks of playing football. We don’t want other parents to have to lose their children like we did.”
As Dez Bryant said it, hopefully the NFL takes bigger action when it comes to addressing CTE and how to best help athletes avoid such condition.
