The family of Chris Simon reveals the heartbreaking cause of his passing
Tragedy struck the NHL on Tuesday as it was reported that former NHL tough guy Chris Simon had passed away at the age of 52. Drafted 25th overall in the 1990 draft, Simon went on to skate in 864 games where he amassed 1824 penalty minutes and 305 points as well as winning a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996.
Today, Chris Simon's family issued a statement through his agent Paul Theofanous about his passing.
"The family strongly believes and witnessed firsthand, that Chris struggled immensely from CTE which unfortunately resulted in his death. 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."
Unfortunately, the affects from CTE caused Simon to continuously deal with anxiety, PTSD and depression following his career, which, according to his family, had ultimately led to him unfortunately taking his own life.
Further rumours have mentioned that Simon may have been on disability and social assistance at the time of his passing, which shows just how big of an impact that CTE can have on an player's ability to care for himself, even after a lengthy NHL career. Some truly saddening news, to say the least.
Our thoughts go out to his friends, family and entire community of Wawa, Ontario at this time.
| POLL | ||
MARS 20 | 638 ANSWERS The family of Chris Simon reveals the heartbreaking cause of his passing Does the NHL do enough to protect players from themselves and one another from traumatic brain injuries? | ||
| Definitely not | 392 | 61.4 % |
| I think they're trying | 200 | 31.3 % |
| They do a good job of protecting the players | 46 | 7.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
MUST READ
Previously on MapleLeafsDaily
TRENDING NOW
