Marshawn Kneeland’s family has released results showing that Boston University CTE Center researchers diagnosed him posthumously with Stage 1 chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
The finding was announced in a family-authorized release from the Concussion and CTE Foundation.
Release cautions against linking diagnosis to suicide
The family’s release explicitly says that a post-mortem CTE diagnosis should not be considered the cause of suicide. It also says CTE is not known to be a suicide risk factor.
That distinction is essential to understanding the disclosure. The approved finding establishes that researchers diagnosed Kneeland with Stage 1 CTE after his death. It does not establish that the diagnosis caused his death or explain why he died.
The family’s announcement makes the medical result public while placing a firm limit on what can be concluded from it. Any account of the diagnosis should preserve that separation rather than presenting CTE as an explanation for suicide.
The release is the approved source for both the posthumous diagnosis and the family’s caution about how the finding should be interpreted.
