The former NFL player who killed five people in a South Carolina murder-suicide Thursday will be posthumously examined for degenerative brain disease related to football head trauma and irrational behavior, according to a new report.
Phillip Adams ’family gave the green light to doctors to test for traumatic chronic encephalopathy, known as CTE, a condition commonly associated with football players, The Charlotte Observer reported.
The York County Forensic Office in South Carolina will conduct the tests, along with Boston University, where a 2017 study found that most football players suffered from some degree of the disease.
The results could take up to six months, according to the newspaper.
Adams, 32, was forced into his former doctor’s home Thursday and killed him, his wife and two grandchildren.
The athlete also fatally shot a contractor outside the doctor’s home before killing himself.
Adams’ six years in the NFL were marred by injuries. In his 2012 season with Oakland, Adams reportedly suffered two concussions over three games.
Dr. Hallie Zwibel, director of the Sports Medicine Center at the New York Institute of Technology, told The Post on Thursday that it is possible that Adams developed CTE during his career.
“I could have been getting hits all the time [and] he only ended up with one or two concussions, but the cumulative successes he has had are so many that they could have caused him to develop a degenerative brain disease, ”Zwibel said.
Zwibel said the illness could help explain what led Adams to carry out the bloody fury.
“It really affects people to a great extent in their ability to enjoy relationships and friendships, to really function in the world. They are very frustrated by the deficits they have, ”said Zwibel.
“People become more impulsive and reckless in their behavior. They become emotionally unstable, “he added.