Ryan Freel, who was a victim of numerous head traumas during his nine-year major league career with the Reds and four other teams due his aggressive style of play, is found dead from what appears to be a self-inflicted shotgun wound. Within a year, a study of the 36 year-old’s brain will reveal he suffered from a degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a condition believed to be triggered by repeated concussions that has been linked to suicide.

On December 22, 2012 — Ryan Freel, who was a victim of numerous head traumas during his nine-year major league career with the Reds and four other teams due his aggressive style of play, is found dead in his Jacksonville, FL home from what appears to be a self-inflicted shotgun wound. Within a year, a study of the 36 year-old’s brain will reveal he suffered from a degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a condition believed to be triggered by repeated concussions that has been linked to suicide.