Chris Simon died from suicide Monday.
Some short posts.
The family strongly believes and witnessed firsthand, that Chris struggled immensely from CTE which unfortunately resulted in his death," read the statement provided by Simon's former agent, Paul Theofanous. "We are grieving with the loss of our son, brother, father, partner, teammate and friend.
"The entire Wawa community is sharing in our grief. We will not be releasing any further details at this time and ask for privacy during this very difficult time. We appreciate everyone who shares in our tragic loss."
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) can only be diagnosed after death.
The researchers did not find more deaths among the NHL enforcers than in the control group.
"However, being an enforcer was associated with dying approximately 10 years earlier and more frequently of suicide and drug overdose than matched controls," the study read. "Re-emphasis on player safety and improving quality of life after a hockey career should renew discussion to make fighting a game misconduct penalty in the NHL."
Simon is the latest former NHL tough guy to die at a young age, joining the likes of Bob Probert, Derek Boogaard, Wade Belak and Rick Rypien.
The stats for enforcers dying 10 years earlier should be a wakeup call to the NHL.
