Reproduced with permission from Business Insider
DAVE DUERSON LEFT a final request to his family in a suicide note they shared with the New York Times.
In Duerson, describes his fading vision and pain in the “left side of his brain,” along with personal message directed to family members. But note also included one final request:
“PLEASE, SEE THAT MY BRAIN IS GIVEN TO THE N.F.L.’S BRAIN BANK”
Duerson was by all account a happy and financially successful man, until just about four years ago. His wife says his memory began to fade and he had trouble stringing words together. His successful food distribution business went into receivership, his home was foreclosed on, and his wife left him. Reports say he filed for bankruptcy just last fall.
Dureson also served on the committee that reviewed disability claims by retired players. He was intimately familiar with the plight of former football players suffering from dementia. Players like Fred McNeill.
That Dureson chose to make his damaged brain the final matter of his life sends a powerful message to football fans every where. Will the league and the player’s association, locked in a duel for the NFL’s future, hear it?
