Former Charger Vincent Jackson May Have Battled Alcoholism; Family Believes He Had CTE
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Former San Diego Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson -- who was found dead in a hotel room in Florida this week -- battled alcoholism and may have suffered from CTE, authorities said Friday.
Jackson was found dead Monday in a hotel room in the Homewood Suites hotel in a suburb of Tampa, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
He had been staying at the hotel since Jan. 11.
His family had filed a missing person's report on Feb. 11, but he was located at the hotel by deputies the following day. After speaking to him, they canceled the report.
However, he was later found dead Monday morning by a housekeeper.
On Wednesday, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister told a local radio station Wednesday that it appears Jackson battled chronic alcoholism.
"We got the autopsy report back, that will be released today, showed unfortunately he suffered from chronic alcoholism...We haven't got the toxicology report back so can't say with any certainty that that was it, but longstanding health conditions that contributed to his passing because of some alcohol abuse," Chronister told Q105.
The sheriff added that Jackson's family believes he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain degeneration condition that has been diagnosed in several deceased NFL players, including Chargers legend Junior Seau, who died in 2012.
"This is true speculation, but what the family's telling me is that he suffered from CTE, they believe he had a lot of concussion problems. And when you suffer from that you're not yourself, you're not your normal self."
The Chargers drafted Jackson in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He spent seven seasons with them before joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he played another five seasons.
He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection and had six 1,000-yard seasons.
