Former NFL player Mike Adamle, believed to be one of only a few living people ever diagnosed with the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), detailed his 20-year battle with the condition on Megyn Kelly TODAY Thursday morning.
As a result of CTE, the one-time Chicago Bears running back who went on to become a local sports anchor and host of the game show ‘American Gladiators’ suffered through epilepsy – once having a seizure on the air in 1999 – and depression before losing his career and his marriage.
‘I felt like I was losing him,’ said wife Kim, who remarried Adamle five years after their divorce. ‘He was physically aggressive with me, which was not like Mike at all.’
Former NFL player Mike Adamle, believed to be one of only a few living people ever diagnosed with the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), detailed his 20-year battle with the condition on Megyn Kelly TODAY
It wasn’t until he was diagnosed with CTE last year that they were able to start dealing with his problems directly.
As far as Adamle knew, the disease could only be diagnosed in the deceased, such as the Boston University study that revealed 110 out of 111 donated brains from former NFL players had some degree of the CTE.
‘I told the doctor, what do you mean?’ Adamle said to Kelly of his diagnosis. ‘They’re supposed to be dead before you can diagnose that. And they said, well, at this point in time we really don’t know.’
Dr. Bennet Omalu, who is credited as one of the pioneers of CTE research, claimed to have diagnosed former NFL player Fred Mitchell with the disease in 2012, but did not reveal that diagnosis until last year. Mitchell passed away in 2015.
After retiring form football, Adamle went on to a career as a local sports anchor until he suffered a seizure during a broadcast in 1999. A year ago he was diagnosed with CTE
Regardless of who the medical field regards as the first living person to be diagnosed with the disease, Adamle told doctors that he was determined to be the first ‘to live with it.’
Because so much is unknown about CTE, treating the condition in the living presents an enormous challenge.
‘We can’t stop that brain damage, but we can do other things to promote other brain growth, neurogenesis,’ said TODAY guest Dr. Robert Cantu. ‘The exercise, the diet, anti-inflammatory, low glycemic, socializing, the emotional part. All of these things are part of our daily life that we do all the time.’
Now, not only is Adamle focused on diet and exercise, but he’s doing the kinds of things that require coordination, counting, and both sides of his brain.
He and his wife have taken up ballroom dancing and Adamle says boxing lessons have helped with his coordination.
‘It’s not that you get hit in the head or anything, but you have all these punch routines,’ he explained.
Adamle and his wife have launched an initiative with Cantu’s Concussion Legacy Foundation to help those who may be living with the disease by following his example.
Adamle and fellow guests – former New York Giants defensive lineman Leonard Marshall and former New York Jets linebacker Ed Marinaro – also talked about their decision to play football and whether or not they would change it if they could go back.
While Adamle said he would never give up the personal relationships he’s gained in football ‘in a million years,’ he did acknowledge that the abuse he’s endured has been excessive.
‘There’s something intrinsically wrong with a sport, at least it is right now, where, you know, you lose your marbles somewhere down the line,’ he said.
‘There’s no happy ending,’ he said. ‘But I want to make sure that we come close.’