Kevin Turner, a former fullback for the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots, succumbed to ALS on Thursday, having been diagnosed with the disease back in 2010.
The former University of Alabama football star, 46, was part of the group of almost 5,000 retired NFL players that sued the league for healthcare and cost connected with brain injuries from their playing days, according to the
Montgomery Advertiser.
Turner said in 2011 that he believed playing football contributed to his condition and he would not have played if he had fully known of the risk, reported
ESPN.
"Football had something to do with it," Turner said then. "I don't know to what extent and I may not ever know. But there are too many people I know that have ALS and played football in similar positions. They seem to be linebackers, fullbacks, strong safeties. Those are big collision guys."
"If they would have come to me and said, 'I've seen the future. This is what happens,' of course, I would stop playing immediately. But, as we all know, nobody can see the future. For me, it just falls into a long line of bad decisions," Turner added.
ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord, according to the
ALS Association website. The ailment is often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, for the Hall of Fame baseball player who died from ALS in 1941, noted
Biogrpahy.com.
Turner started a foundation to raise awareness of brain trauma in athletes. His father, Raymond Turner issued a statement on the
foundation website this week.
"Myra and I lost a great son today," Raymond Turner stated on the website. "He will be missed so much. Thanks to everyone so very much for your support and prayers during this journey. He was ready to go to Heaven, excited he said, Love y'all and God Bless."
Teammates shared their condolences on Twitter.
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