By Ari Meirov
The death of former Chargers and Buccaneers wide receiver Vincent Jackson left everyone in shock.
Details are starting to trickle in on what exactly happened.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said Wednesday that the autopsy report showed Jackson suffered from chronic alcoholism.
Jackson was found dead Monday at a hotel in Brandon, Florida. He was just 38 years old.
“We got the autopsy report back that will be released today,” Chronister said. “Unfortunately he suffered from chronic alcoholism.”
Chronister was not ready to say alcohol directly caused Jackson’s death. His agency is waiting on toxicology reports which have yet to be released.
“We haven’t gotten the toxicology report back, so can’t say with any certainty that was it,” Chronister said. “But a lot of longstanding health conditions that contributed to his passing because of some alcohol abuse.”
Jackson’s family also has concerns he may have suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive and fatal disease associated with concussions.
“This is just speculation, but what the family is telling me is that he suffered from CTE,” Chronister said. “They believe he had a lot of concussion problems. When you suffer from that, you’re not yourself, you’re not your normal self. And they believe wholeheartedly all of these actions are a result of what he suffered while he was playing in the NFL.”
According to the initial police report, Jackson had been staying at the hotel since Jan. 11. A missing persons report was filed by family members last Wednesday, but he was found and the missing persons case was canceled.
“Again, just tragic,” Chronister said. “38 years old, and to have the impact he had on this community. He would never say no. He’s the person you would call and say, ‘Hey, I have something we want to do for a child in need, a family in need, a military member in need,’ and he was always there. I don’t know how he balanced the schedule.”
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