Attorney: Lawrence Phillips' brain will be studied for CTE, trauma
Lawrence Phillips' family will donate his brain to Boston University's ongoing study for CTE.
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Lawrence Phillips' brain will be donated by his family to researchers studying the impacts of traumatic brain injuries and CTE, according to an attorney representing his mother.
Dan Chamberlain, an attorney for Juanita Phillips, told USA Today that her son's brain will be donated to Boston University's Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Program.
"She wanted an explanation about what happened, and I told her, ‘Look, the only way you can really explain it is by examining his brain,’” Chamberlain said, via USA Today. “I told her, ‘You owe it to your son, you owe it to every other NFL, college and pee wee and high school and middle school player that played football.’”
Phillips was found dead in his cell early Wednesday at Kern Valley State Prison, where he was facing the possible death penalty in the alleged murder of his former cellmate.
According to Kern Valley State Prison, his death is being ruled a suicide.
In 2008, Phillips was sentenced to 31 years in prison for convictions that included domestic violence, spousal abuse, false imprisonment and vehicle theft. In June, USA Today published a series of Phillips' harrowing letters from prison, many of which refer to the Nebraska program where he starred from 1993-95.
In April, 37-year-old Damian Soward was found unresponsive in the Kern Valley State Prison cell he shared with Phillips, who was immediately named a suspect in Soward's death. Per the Associated Press, officials later determined Soward had been strangled. Phillips was charged with first-degree murder.
Phillips was selected with the No. 6 overall pick of the 1996 draft by the St. Louis Rams but played just 35 NFL games with the Rams, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers.
