Late BMX legend Dave Mirra becomes first action sports athlete diagnosed with CTE
Late BMX legend Dave Mirra has become the first action sports athlete to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, ESPN reports. The neurodegenerative brain disease, commonly known as CTE, is linked to dementia and depression and is thought to be caused by repeated trauma to the head.
Mirra died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Feb. 4, and his wife Lauren told ESPN that in the months and weeks leading up to his death, he "wasn't himself," becoming oddly distant or wildly emotional. "When I looked at him, I could see straight through him," she said. "He was lost, he was helpless."
Mirra's brain was examined by University of Toronto neuropathologist Dr. Lili-Naz Hazrati, who said there was evidence of abnormal tau protein deposits, the trademark indicator of CTE. In his BMX career, Mirra endured several concussions, and in addition to a fractured skull sustained at 19 in a car accident, he briefly tried boxing after he retired from biking. Hazrati said Mirra's brain was indistinguishable from those of CTE-diagnosed former hockey and football players. "The key is brain injury," Hazrati told ESPN. "Regardless of how you get it … you are at risk for this."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Lauren Mirra received her late husband's diagnosis in March, but her interview with ESPN published Tuesday is the first time she's spoken publicly on the subject. Read the whole thing here.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
-
'A direct, protracted war with Israel is not something Iran is equipped to fight'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 17, 2024
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - political anxiety, jury sorting hat, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rain
Speed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published