Add Bobby Hull's name to the list of NHL players who had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) when he died. The Hall of Famer was posthumously diagnosed with the debilitating brain condition after his death in 2023 at age 84, reports NPR. His family agreed to release the results this week. Hull played mostly in the 1960s and '70s, combining a deft scoring touch (he led the league three times) with bruising physical play, per the Athletic. Hull is the third member of the Hockey Hall of Fame with CTE, along with Stan Mikita and Henri Richard.
"He insisted on donating his brain, feeling as though it was his duty to help advance research on this agonizing disease," widow Deborah Hull said in a statement. Researchers at Boston University found Hull—who suffered memory loss and impaired judgment in his final decade—had stage two of the four-stage condition.
University researchers previously found CTE in 18 of 19 brains of former NHL players, and their study suggested that the risk of developing CTE rises 34% with each year of hockey played. The NHL players union has formed an advisory committee to help players understand the risks, though the league itself denies any link exists, notes the Washington Post. "There have been isolated cases of players who have played the game [who] have had CTE," commissioner Gary Bettman said in 2023. "But it doesn't mean that it necessarily came from playing in the NHL." (More Bobby Hull stories.)
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