NYT Reports Former Iowa Hawkeye And New York Giant Tyler Sash Had CTE When He Died

NYT- When the former Giants safety Tyler Sash was found dead at age 27 of an accidental overdose of pain medications at his Iowa home on Sept. 8, his grieving family remained consumed by a host of unanswered questions about the final, perplexing years of Sash’s life.

Cut by the Giants in 2013 after what was at least his fifth concussion, Sash had returned to Iowa and increasingly displayed irregular behavior, family members said this week. He was arrested in his hometown of Oskaloosa for public intoxication after leading the police on a four-block chase with a motorized scooter, a pursuit that ended with Sash fleeing toward a wooded area.

Sash had bouts of confusion, memory loss and minor fits of temper. Although an Iowa sports celebrity, both as a Super Bowl-winning member of the Giants and a respected, popular star athlete at the University of Iowa, Sash was unable to seek meaningful employment because he had difficulty focusing long enough to finish a job.

Barnetta Sash, Tyler’s mother, blamed much of her son’s behavior on the powerful prescription drugs he was taking for a football-related shoulder injury that needed surgery. Nonetheless, after his death she donated his brain to be tested for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated trauma that has been found in dozens of former N.F.L. players.

Well that’s some shitty news. Although for the sake of Tyler’s family it might give them answers as to why he had been acting so strange near the end. Just awful stuff. Hard to even comprehend. I don’t claim to be an expert on anything concussion-related or how the NFL is handling the prevention of concussions but it just seems like it’s going to get way way worse before it gets any better. And this obviously isn’t the first (or last, for that matter) time we’ve seen a former NFL player deal with the effects of CTE but damn this one hurts for the people around here. Local kid, played for Iowa and went on to get a Super Bowl ring with the Giants.  Sash was one of the most beloved Iowa players both during his time here and then after he left and went pro.  Always supporting Hawkeye sports.  It’s just fucking shitty man.  RIP Tyler.