Dallas Cowboys legend Tony Dorsett is battling chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative condition that he believes--and many scientists would agree--stems from his playing career.
Dorsett was diagnosed with CTE, a degenerative condition which is believed to be caused by head trauma and is linked to dementia and depression, in November of 2013. In a recent appearance on 1310-AM The Ticket in Dallas, Dorsett vowed that he’d continue fighting the disease, but admitted some frustration.
"I signed up for this when, I guess, I started playing football so many years ago," Dorsett said, via ESPN Dallas. "But, obviously, not knowing that the end was going to be like this. But I love the game. The game was good to me. It's just unfortunate that I'm going through what I'm going through. I'm in the fight, man. I'm not just laying around letting this overtake me. I'm fighting. I'm in the battle. I'm hoping we can reverse this thing somehow."
A Hall of Famer and a member of the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor, Dorsett rushed for 12,739 yards in 11 seasons, good enough to make him the eighth-leading rusher in NFL history.
"It's very frustrating at times for me. I've got a good team of people around me, my wife and kids, who work with me," he said. "When you've been in this town for so long and I have to go to some place I've been going to for many, many, many years, and then all of a sudden I forget how to get there. Those things are frustrating when it comes to those things. I understand that I'm combating it, trying to get better. But, you know, some days are good. Some days are bad."
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