Former NFL player Brandon Browner is now claiming he might have CTE, and that his conviction for attempted murder should be overturned.
The former Seattle Seahawks star was sentenced to eight years in a California prison after pleading no contest to a charge of attempted murder and two counts of willful child endangerment back in December. Well, he wants a do-over, and brought on former O.J. Simpson prosecutor Chris Darden to help.
TMZ reported the following Wednesday afternoon:
In court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, Browner claims he’s been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and PTSD and wasn’t on his proper meds during his original hearing.
Browner also claims he can’t fully concentrate or focus — and a forensic psychologist believes this could be the result of CTE caused by the numerous hits he sustained during his 11-year NFL career.
Now, Darden and Browner are begging the judge to throw out the conviction and enter a new plea — presumably, a not guilty plea — so he won’t spend the next 8 years behind bars.
This is a fascinating legal situation to me. Right now, CTE can’t be studied until somebody dies and their brain is studied. So, there’s no real way to determine whether or not Browner has CTE as long as he’s alive.
That means they pretty much just have to go off his medical history, which I’m sure includes documented concussions. (RELATED: Former NFL Star Gets Eight Years In Prison On Attempted Murder Charge)
Odds are high that if you played football as long as Browner did that you’re going to have some documented injuries.
If a judge agrees to throw out the conviction because he might have CTE, it would open a massive door going forward.
NFL players could pretty much use that strategy in court forever, and there would be no way to tell for sure until they die. Obviously, that’s going to create some serious issues.
This should be fascinating to follow. Prepare for shockwaves to get sent through the NFL if Browner gets a new trial over his CTE claims. That would be absolutely wild.