The stark phrase was used repeatedly in the 86-page civil complaint filed October 16 in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham against the NFL and the Riddell company, the league’s official helmet provider from 1989 to 2013.
The estate claims Hernandez, a New England Patriots tight end from 2010 to 2013, suffered chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain disease commonly known as CTE, after sustaining blows to the head while wearing Riddell helmets during a period that spanned from youth football to his professional career, which ended when he was arrested in 2013 for murder.
“Aaron experienced a chaotic and horrendous existence in many respects, due to his [previously] undiagnosed brain injury,” the complaint said, adding that CTE symptoms include “aggression, explosive behavior, loss of concentration, mood swings, depression, apathy, and cognitive impairment.”
Hernandez according to the report, had suffered Stage 3, of 4, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) – a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated blows to the head, according to an autopsy performed by two neuropathologists in Boston University’s CTE Center. A condition which recent studies show afflicts nearly 99 per cent of deceased NFL players.
The Patriots organization are bracing to defend the outcome of Hernandez’s brain report and the family’s impending lawsuit.