In a recent Dallas-area AM radio interview, former University of Pittsburgh Heisman Trophy-winning running back Tony Dorsett told 1310 The Ticket that his battle with CTE is a struggle and that he did not think “the end was going to be like this.”
CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is a disorder that causes depression and dementia, and in Dorsett’s case, was likely brought on by head trauma traced back to his career as a football player. The Hopewell High School graduate played for Pitt in the mid-1970s, winning the 1976 Heisman and going on to be drafted by the Dallas Cowboys with the second overall pick in the 1977 Draft.
In 1994, Dorsett was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and he was member of the 2013 NFL Draft class. He won a Super Bowl and is the eighth-leading NFL rusher of all-time. Now, the 60-year old who was diagnosed with the condition two years ago after being scanned and studied at UCLA, says he is in a “battle” and that he hopes “we can reverse this thing somehow.”
Recent rules changes and safety procedures have been put in place by the NFL and NCAA in response to the connections being made more and more apparent between playing football and suffering from brain injuries later in life. Dorsett acknowledged frustration with these, noting that it has changed the game from how he remembers it when he played, but he understands and supports anything that can keep players safer and healthier than he is now in his retirement.
Dorsett also acknowledged outbursts of anger and confusion towards his wife and daughters in the past, saying that they now understand and are working with him through his struggles.
“I love the game,” he said in the interview. “The game was good to me. It’s just unfortunate that I’m going through what I’m going through.”
Photo Credit: CBS Sports
