DALLAS COWBOYS: Tony Dorsett diagnosed with signs of CTE.....he has signs of chronic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease that has been linked to head trauma, depression, dementia and suicide in former NFL players.

Tony Dorsett, the Dallas Cowboys’ Hall of Fame running back, received the news he suspected was coming on Monday.

Running Back, Tony Dorsett

“It hit me like a ton of bricks,” he told the Dallas Morning News on Wednesday, confirming a report by ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” that tests at UCLA show he has signs of chronic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease that has been linked to head trauma, depression, dementia and suicide in former NFL players.

Hall of Fame offensive lineman Joe DeLamielleure and former All-Pro defensive lineman Leonard Marshall received the news from researchers after having brain scans and clinical evaluations at UCLA. Another player also was tested, although those results and his identity are not yet available. Last year, UCLA tested five other former players, according to ESPN, and found signs of CTE in all of them. CTE is marked by an abnormal presence of tau protein, which strangles brain cells. read more