CHICAGO — Former Bears safety Dave Duerson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest, according to The Chicago Tribune, and the co-director of a medical school program told The Associated Press on Saturday night that his family has agreed to donate his brain for research.
The Tribune, citing an unidentified person with knowledge of the situation, reported on its website that Duerson's death has been ruled a suicide. His body was found Thursday in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla.
Messages were left by the AP seeking comment from Miami-Dade County's chief medical examiner. A Miami-Dade police supervisor said the department had no information regarding the cause of Duerson's death.
Chris Nowinski, part of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University School of Medicine, told the AP he was contacted by a representative of the NFL Players Association on Friday, then worked with a representative of Duerson's family.
"I can confirm that Mr. Duerson's family has agreed to donate his brain to the CSTE at BU School of Medicine," Nowinski said in an e-mail.
The Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy is a collaborative venture between BU Medical School and the Sports Legacy Institute that's addressing what it calls the "concussion crisis" in sports. The group has been at the forefront of research into head trauma in sports and received a $1 million gift from the NFL, which it has pushed for better treatment of concussions.
According to the center's website, use of the Brain Bank includes research into "the cause, progression, and characteristics" of a degenerative disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
A native of Muncie, Ind., Duerson was a third-round draft pick by the Bears in 1983 out of Notre Dame and played 11 seasons in the NFL. He won Super Bowls with the 1985 Bears and 1990 Giants, and played in four Pro Bowls.