The suspect in the murder of four people in a Manhattan skyscraper on Park Avenue was suspected of having chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain disorder sometimes seen in football players.
Shane Tamura, 27, may have been aiming at NFL offices in the building where he allegedly shot and killed four people, gravely injured another, and then shot himself on Monday night, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Tamura was a high school football player in California. He was described as a noteworthy running back who “came out of nowhere to become one of the most electrifying players in the league” in a 2014 story in the Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
According to police, a three-page note discovered in his wallet at the site asked for a CTE study of his brain and accused the NFL of hiding the brain damage caused by football. Tamura was not an NFL player.
What is CTE?
The accumulation of aberrant tau proteins causes CTE, an adegenerative brain disease that frequently results in severe mood swings, suicidal ideation, dementia, and other detrimental consequences.
Due to its association with recurrent head injuries and concussions, the illness is frequently related to players participating in full-contact sports, especially football.
Physicians are still unable to identify the illness in patients who are still alive. However, a 2017 study that looked at the brains of former football players at various levels found that 177 out of 202, or almost 88%, had CTE.
One-third of 1,980 retired professional football players who played between 1960 and 2020 who participated in a new Harvard University survey said they had CTE. Among the former players, 176 reported being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia, and over 230 claimed having suicidal thoughts.
Both studies’ researchers admitted that selection bias might have played a role, as relatives of players who passed away or former athletes who had health concerns might have been more inclined to take part.
In 2023, researchers from Boston University announced that they have posthumously identified the illness in 345 former NFL players.
The NFL and CTE
The NFL has been under fire from former players and advocacy organizations for allegedly interfering with CTE research. The NFL “attempted to influence the grant selection process” for a brain damage study, according to a 2016 congressional committee.
Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist, made headlines in 2002 when he discovered CTE in the autopsy of a former NFL player. In response to his studies, the NFL accused him of fraud, he said NPR.
In 2009, GQ Magazine published an article about Omalu’s findings and the criticism he encountered. The tale was made into a Hollywood movie in 2015, which helped popularize the problem and made many fans wonder if the country’s most popular sport was safe.
The NFL was accused by former players who filed a lawsuit against the league of attempting to downplay the dangers of head injuries. A significant settlement between the NFL and thousands of former football players who suffered from neurological problems was upheld by a federal appeals court in 2016.
Tamura mentioned the 2005 suicide of Terry Long, a former NFL player who was found to have had chronic traumatic brain injury, in the note that was discovered at the scene of the Manhattan shooting.
Tamura wrote, “You can’t go against the NFL,” according to authorities. “They’ll squash you.”
The NFL has implemented regulations for when a player is suspected of having had a concussion in response to criticism on how it shields its players from brain injuries. According to the league, athletes must follow a five-point protocol before they may resume playing after suffering a concussion, and the checklist is examined annually.
Additionally, it is increasing the usage of new helmets that the league claims lower the risk of concussions.
A request for comment about the shooting and CTE was not immediately answered by an NFL representative.
Violence and CTE
It has been discovered that the brains of numerous former NFL players who committed suicide exhibit symptoms of CTE.
When former NFL player Dave Duerson committed suicide in 2011, he left a request for his brain to be examined for evidence of CTE.Duerson had an advanced type of traumatic encephalopathy, according to research from the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy.
The same thing happened to retired linebacker Junior Seau a year later, and his family asked that his brain be examined for the illness.It was determined that his brain exhibited “cellular changes consistent with CTE.”
In one well-known instance, Aaron Hernandez, a former player for the New England Patriots with a violent and confrontational past, was convicted of first-degree murder in 2015.
When he was discovered dead in his jail cell two years later, at the age of 27, his brain showed one of the worst cases of CTE ever seen in a person of his age.
To access the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, phone or text 9 8 8 if you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis or may be thinking about suicide.
Copyright 2025 NPR
