Kevin Turner

Paul Kevin Turner (June 12, 1969 – March 24, 2016) was an American professional football player who was a fullback for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Turner died after suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for several years. The illness had been triggered by chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Career Turner attended Prattville High School in Prattville, Alabama. Playing for the school's football team, Turner was a member of the 1984 Alabama state champions. He enrolled at the University of Alabama, where he played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide. With the Crimson Tide, Turner was regarded as a strong blocker, supporting running backs Siran Stacy and Bobby Humphrey. He also rushed for per carry and had 95 receptions. Turner played for New England for three seasons, and then played for five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.

NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Rushing Receiving GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1992 NWE 16 1 10 40 4.0 11 0 7 52 7.4 19 2 1993 NWE 16 9 50 231 4.6 49 0 39 333 8.5 26 2 1994 NWE 16 9 36 111 3.1 13 1 52 471 9.1 32 2 1995 PHI 2 2 2 9 4.5 12 0 4 29 7.3 11 0 1996 PHI 16 12 18 39 2.2 7 0 43 409 9.5 41 1 1997 PHI 16 10 18 96 5.3 29 0 48 443 9.2 36 3 1998 PHI 16 15 20 94 4.7 19 0 34 232 6.8 18 0 1999 PHI 8 7 6 15 2.5 5 0 9 46 5.1 14 0 Career 106 65 160 635 4.0 49 1 236 2,015 8.5 41 10

Playoffs Year Team Games Rushing Receiving GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1994 NWE 1 0 1 4 4.0 4 0 1 7 7.0 7 0 1996 PHI 1 1 3 4 1.3 4 0 2 18 9.0 11 0 Career 2 1 4 8 2.0 4 0 3 25 8.3 11 0

Personal life Turner and his first wife, Joyce Labbe of Auburn, Maine, had three children: Nolan, Natalie, and Cole. They divorced . Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was a teammate of Turner's in college.

Health issues In June 2010, Turner was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and agreed to donate his brain and spinal cord when he died.

Turner's life with ALS was documented in the music video for the song "Journey On" by Ty Herndon. Turner and his two children appeared in the music video along with Herndon. In 2012, Jon Frankel of HBO worked with Turner to create the documentary film American Man, describing Turner's life, especially his battle with ALS.

On March 24, 2016, Turner died in his home in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. On November 3 of that year, Boston University Brain CTE Center announced that Turner had a severe case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which led to his death. Multiple news outlets reported that CTE killed Turner, not ALS.

The following day, the Boston University School of Medicine posted on its Facebook Page, "The VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank issued the following statement: To clarify conflicting media reports, #KevinTurner died of #ALS. ALS is a clinical diagnosis defined by the loss of movement through the degeneration of motor neuron cells. There are many known causes of ALS, specifically genetic and environmental causes, but most ALS cases are of idiopathic, or unknown, origin. By studying his brain, researchers at the VA, Boston University School of Medicine and Concussion Legacy Foundation discovered that the cause of Kevin Turner’s ALS was motor neuron cell death triggered by CTE, which is a pathological diagnosis. His clinical diagnosis remains ALS."

Turner is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated hits to the head.