A retired NFL player who gunned down six people before taking his own life suffered from advanced brain disease, according to a medical expert who examined his brain.
The examination of former journeyman defensive back Phillip Adams revealed he had stage 2 chronic traumatic encephalopathy, according to the doctor who performed the exam.
The disease was found to be "unusually severe" in the frontal lobes of Adams' brain, according to Dr. Ann McKee of Boston University, and the condition may have contributed to his "behavioral abnormalities."
The seemingly random massacre played out in April, when Adams, armed with an assault rifle, attacked the home of a renowned local doctor and his wife in York County, South Carolina. The couple and two of their grandchildren were murdered, along with two HVAC workers who performing work at the property. Adams later took his own life during a standoff with police officers.
After the tragedy, Adams' family and friends indicated he had a difficult time in retirement, struggling to find purpose and feeling like a slew of injuries had precluded him from reaching his full potential in the NFL, where he bounced around with the 49ers, Seahawks, Raiders, Jets and Falcons in six seasons.
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Adams' father said football had "messed him up."
CTE has long been identified as a potentially serious condition resulting from repeated blows to the head, and is suspected of causing an array of emotional and behavioral issues for sufferers.
According to the Associated Press, McKee said that Adams' 20-plus years of playing organized football put him at "high risk" of developing CTE, and compared the severity of his case to that of former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, who was convicted of murder before he died by suicide in prison.
McKee noted that Adams had long been troubled, and that his grim final act was not merely a case of him "snapping."
“There were inklings that he was developing clear behavioral and cognitive issues. I don’t think he snapped. It appeared to be a cumulative progressive impairment. He was getting increasingly paranoid, he was having increasing difficulties with his memory, and he was very likely having more and more impulsive behaviors. ... It may not have been recognized, but I doubt that this was entirely out of the blue.”
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