In an interview with the Washington Post, former NFL running back Larry Johnson says he can’t remember two of his seven seasons in the league. Johnson tells the paper’s Kent Babb he believes he’s living with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head trauma.
CTE has been found in the brains of many athletes, perhaps most notably Aaron Hernandez. The former Patriots tight end killed himself in prison while serving a life sentence for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd.
Johnson was a workhorse over his career, averaging nearly 17 carries a game. He carried the ball an NFL record 416 times in 2006 and 1,427 times in his career. The Penn State alum also carried the ball 460 times in college, including 271 times in his 2,087-yard senior season.
CTE can only be confirmed after a person’s death. Johnson, however, says he has many of the symptoms: anxiety, paranoia, headaches, and short-term memory issues.