A toxicology report revealed that former Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan died from an accidental overdose last year, but his family has been told CTE may have also played a role.
Brennan struggled with alcohol and drug addiction, which ultimately led to his death. His family wanted to know if CTE — or chronic traumatic encephalopathy — may have played a role in Brennan’s inability to stay sober, so they donated his brain to Boston University’s CTE center after he died. CTE Center director Dr. Ann McKee determined that Brennan had suffered significant brain trauma both from playing football and a car accident that left him with a major head injury in 2010.
The brain injuries made it difficult for doctors to thoroughly examine Brennan’s brain, but McKee was able to confirm the presence of CTE.
Brennan’s family told Brandon Sneed of Sports Illustrated that they noticed a change in his mood and behavior following the car crash. McKee said both the injury from the crash and CTE could have impacted Brennan’s decision making.
“His ability to avoid those things was really diminished,” McKee explained. “He’s got impulses that he can’t control. He’s got urges that are physical in nature. There’s a physical aspect to this. It’s not just will. And fortitude. And discipline. He’s got injuries that he’s trying to overcome.”
Brennan’s official cause of death was “combined toxic effects” of ethanol, methamphetamines, amphetamines and fentanyl. The overdose left Brennan unconscious for an extended period of time. McKee said his brain looked as though it had suffered a massive stroke, which made it difficult to study.
Brennan, who was 37, was best known by sports fans as the starting quarterback at Hawaii from 2005 to 2007. He was a stat monster during his career. He completed 70.4 percent of his passes for 14,193 yards, 131 touchdowns and 42 interceptions. The 131 touchdown passes rank fourth all time in NCAA Division I FBS history.
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