The brain of former NFL wide receiver Vincent Jackson is being donated to researchers at Boston University to determine if he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma, The New York Times reported Thursday.
The news comes days after Jackson was found dead at 38 in a Florida hotel room.
The family of Vincent Jackson, the retired NFL wide receiver who was found dead on Monday, donated his brain to researchers to determine if he had chromic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma. https://t.co/SkBHjtaMep
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 18, 2021
“Vincent being who he was would have wanted to help as many people as possible,” said Allison Gorrell, a spokeswoman for the Jackson family, in a phone interview with the Times on Wednesday. “It’s something his family wanted to do to get answers to some of their questions.”
There was also news Jackson could have been dead for multiple days in the Homewood Suites in Brandon, Fl.
Housekeeping staff apparently went into his room and saw him slouched over and presumed the former San Diego Charger and Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR was sleeping.
Jackson’s family reported that he was missing on Feb. 10. Two days later, sheriffs found him at the hotel and “after assessing Jackson’s well-being,” canceled the missing person case.
Per ESPN:
Based on the timeline of events described in the Initial Case Summary provided to ESPN by the medical examiner’s office, Jackson was located by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office as part of a welfare check on Feb. 12. Then on Feb. 13 and 14, the hotel staff entered his room and noticed that he was seated on the couch but slouched over.
“They assumed he was sleeping and left the room,” the report said.
A housekeeper found Jackson dead on Monday morning.