Report: 76 of 79 ex-players had brain damage

Seventy-six of the 79 brains of deceased NFL players studied by one of the nation's largest brain banks showed some form of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain disease, according to a report from PBS' "Frontline.''

Of the 128 former football players whose brains were studied at the Department of Veterans Affairs' brain repository in Bedford, Massachusetts -- professionals, semi-professionals, college players and high school players -- 101 tested positive for CTE.

The staggering statistics come a day after it was revealed that former Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, a West Babylon native who killed his girlfriend and himself in December 2013, likely suffered from CTE.

Belcher was not a part of the study referenced in the "Frontline'' report. It also comes as thousands of NFL retirees and their beneficiaries approach an Oct. 14 deadline to decide whether to opt out of a proposed settlement in the class-action concussion case brought against the NFL.

Under the current proposed settlement of the class-action suit, survivors of players found to have been diagnosed with CTE are eligible for up to $4 million. The NFL has agreed to provide at least $765 million over 65 years to former players diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, dementia and other serious neurocognitive problems.

Federal judge Anita B. Brody has scheduled a fairness hearing for Nov. 19 to potentially approve the settlement. In a filing with the United States District Court in Philadelphia Tuesday, two doctors from the Brain Injury Association of America said the tests that retired players would take to determine whether they can receive a cash award are "deeply flawed.''

The "Frontline'' report concedes the data is skewed because many of the players whose brains have been donated to the research suspected they had CTE. Yet Dr. Ann McKee, a neuropathologist who directs the brain bank in Massachusetts, said it represents a clear link between football and brain trauma.

SEE PHOTOSRemembering Jovan Belcher, Kasandra Perkins

"Obviously, this high percentage of living individuals is not suffering from CTE,'' McKee said. "[But] playing football, and the higher the level you play football and the longer you play football, the higher your risk.''

Other former NFL players who were found to have suffered from CTE besides Belcher include Hall of Fame Steelers center Mike Webster, Junior Seau, Dave Duerson and Chris Henry. Seau and Duerson each shot himself in the chest, presumably so their brains could be studied after their deaths.

The NFL did not comment on the "Frontline'' report. The league has given more than $160 million to CTE and related research and projects in recent years. With AP