I just got off the phone with Ryan Boogaard, Derek's middle brother.
Twenty minutes ago, Derek Boogaard's mother and father, Joanne and Len, signed papers to donate their oldest son's brain to the Boston University researchers who are studying for brain disease in athletes.
In March, it was announced that even though Bob Probert died of heart failure, Probert also had the degenerative brain disease Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Probert was the second hockey player from the program at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy to be diagnosed with the disease. The other was 1960s enforcer Reggie Fleming.
From an Associated Press story in March, CSTE is a collaboration between Boston University Medical School and the Sports Legacy Institute that is attempting to address what it calls the "concussion crisis" in sports. The group has been at the forefront of research into head trauma in sports.
CTE is a progressive brain disease believed to be caused by repetitive trauma to the brain, including concussions or subconcussive blows.
I want to emphasize, this does not mean Boogaard died of complications of a concussion. It's just a selfless act by the Boogaards, who believe in these researchers who are trying to raise awareness when it comes to brain trauma.
"Derek loved sports and obviously in particular hockey, so we believe Derek would have liked to assist with research on a matter that had affected him later on in his career," Ryan Boogaard said
Right now, the cause of death of Boogaard is unknown and won't be known for at least a few weeks once test results and toxicology reports are back at the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office.
