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Aaron Hernandez Found To Have CTE

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With guest host Jane Clayson.

Doctors determined that the former NFL player, who was convicted of murder, had advanced stages of CTE. We look at what that means.

Former New England Patriots NFL football player Aaron Hernandez listens as prosecution witness Alexander Bradley testifies during his murder trial, Wednesday, April 1, 2015, at Bristol County Superior Court in Fall River, Mass. (Brian Snyder, AP)
Former New England Patriots NFL football player Aaron Hernandez listens as prosecution witness Alexander Bradley testifies during his murder trial, Wednesday, April 1, 2015, at Bristol County Superior Court in Fall River, Mass. (Brian Snyder, AP)

Guest

Ken Belson, NFL reporter for the New York Times. (@el_belson)

From The Reading List

The New York Times: Aaron Hernandez Found to Have Severe C.T.E. — "Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots tight end and a convicted murderer, was 27 when he committed suicide in April. Yet a posthumous examination of his brain showed he had such a severe form of the degenerative brain disease C.T.E. that the damage was akin to that of players well into their 60s."

Time: Aaron Hernandez Had CTE. How Much More Damage Can The NFL Take?  — "Given these findings, it's plausible that Hernandez's damaged brain contributed to his repugnant behavior. Plausible: that's all. We know that CTE is associated with the repetitive trauma sustained in football. We know that CTE symptoms include irritability, depression, lack of impulse control. But what role does CTE play in an individual's decision to commit suicide, or a murder? How much of those fatal decisions are due to brain damage, or genetics, or circumstance, or something else? We don't know, and likely never will."

This segment aired on September 22, 2017.

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