Report: Former UNC Lineman Ryan Hoffman Had CTE

A former UNC football player, who died while riding his bicycle into oncoming traffic late last year, had CTE.

Ryan Hoffman was thrust into the national spotlight after being profiled by the New York Times last year, while the former offensive lineman was battling homelessness and drug abuse in Florida.

The Times reported on Tuesday that family members had told the paper that researchers at Boston University examined Hoffman’s brain. The Concussion Legacy Foundation notified the family on Friday that Hoffman’s brain did show evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, according to the report. CTE has been found in other football players recently, including Junior Seau after he committed suicide in 2012.

After news of Hoffman’s situation began to gain attention, UNC officials reached out to Hoffman in hopes of helping him receive the treatment he needed. The NYT piece reported that Hoffman said he was struggling with cognitive problems that kept him from holding down a job. Those problems, Hoffman felt, stemmed from his years playing college football in the late ‘90s.

Hoffman was initially hesitant about receiving treatment. UNC did successfully reach out to Hoffman and fly him back to campus in hopes of giving Hoffman the medical attention that was needed.

Hoffman was 41 when he died.