Retired KC Chief Turley donating brain to research
A month ago, three NFL players became the first active players to donate their brains and spinal cord tissue to Boston University’s Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, a collaboration of the Sports Legacy Institute and BU’s medical school to study the effects of repeated concussions.
Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk, Seattle Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu and Arizona Cardinals receiver Sean Morey all promised their brains and spinal cord tissue to the center after they die.
The Associated Press reported in mid-September that the center counted 150 former athletes (including 40 retired NFL players) as donors.
One future donor is former Kansas City Chief Kyle Turley, who retired after the 2007 NFL season.
Turley tells The Pitch that he’s donating his brain because there hasn’t been enough study on the effects of traumatic brain injuries, which he says he experienced in his 10 years of professional football.
“Nobody has really taken it on like these guys have,” Turley says. “That’s why I committed to give my brain to these guys. … There needs to be more knowledge gained from the results of playing contact sports … and dealing with head trauma.”
Turley cites the stories of former Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Andre Waters (suicide; a study of Waters’ brain showed the tissue resembled an 85-year-old Alzheimer’s patient) and Justin Strelzyk (who died after leading police on a chase that ended with Strelzyk crashing into a tanker truck; watch the ESPN videos here and here). He even mentions wrestler Chris Benoit (who murdered his wife and child and then committed suicide; a study of Benoit’s brain also revealed damage similar to an 85-year-old Alzheimer’s patient).
“At such a young age, their brain
basically is in the shape of an 80-year-old man experiencing
Alzheimer’s, dementia and all kinds of things,” Turley says. “When you start dealing
with those types of issues, life gets pretty serious pretty quick.”
Playing in the trenches on the offensive line, Turley was hit on every play.
“When collisions in football are related to car crashes, when you start adding up how many plays you’ve run over a 10-year career, that’s a lot of plays. That’s a lot of car crashes.”
