Research confirms ex-Vikings LB was first living person to be diagnosed with CTE

CNN reports that chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was confirmed by Fred McNeill's autopsy

In a week chock full of daunting headlines pertaining to concussions, another one hit the NFL just hours before Thursday Night Football.

Amid criticism from the Concussion Legacy Foundation and concerns from retired players and their families regarding payouts from a $1 billion concussion settlement, the NFL is now faced with the reality that chronic traumatic ecephalopathy (CTE) can potentially be diagnosed in living patients.

That's according to research reported Thursday by CNN, which cited Dr. Bennet Omalu, the first to publish studies on CTE in football players, in identifying former Minnesota Vikings linebacker Fred McNeill as a victim of CTE. McNeill has since passed away, but his autopsy, per CNN, confirmed "the first case of a living person identified with the degenerative brain disease."

Omalu first presented these findings exclusively to CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, in 2016. McNeill's wife, Tia, and his two sons, Gavin and Fred Jr., told Gupta then, that they saw Fred transform from a fun loving family man at the center of their lives into a man who was dealing with symptoms of memory loss, anger and depression that tore their family apart.

The news comes a week after separate research suggested former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, who committed suicide while incarcerated for murder, suffered "the most severe case of a degenerative disease" and was "significantly impacted" by the effects of CTE. And yet, CNN noted, it doesn't necessarily mean players can immediately be diagnosed with the disease. Omalu, according to the report, anticipates it will take as many as five years for any kind of commercial test involving living CTE victims to become available.

McNeill was 63 when he passed away due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. He played for the Vikings from 1974-1985, entering the NFL as a first-round draft pick out of UCLA.