Yahoo Sports Report: Dead WWE star Ashley Massaro wanted her brain donated for CTE research
Ashley Massaro, the ex-WWE star and “Survivor” contestant who died last week at 39, wanted her brain donated for research of degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, CNN reports.
WWE confirmed her death last week. Officials have not yet released a cause of death.
Massaro was one of 60 former professional wrestlers who sued WWE in 2016, accusing the organization of failing to properly protect wrestlers from head trauma, leaving them at risk for brain damage.
Lawyer: Up to Massaro’s family
Massaro’s attorney told CNN that she wanted her brain to be studied, believing that repeated blows to her head in the wrestling ring led to brain damage, and that it was up to her family’s wishes if her brain is donated.
“It was her desire to donate her brain to be studied," Konstantine Kyros told CNN.
CTE, an affliction shown to affect football players and other athletes who suffer concussions and repeated head trauma, can only be detected through a post-mortem brain examination.
U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant dismissed the lawsuit against WWE in 2018 stating that many of the claims were frivolous or that the statute of limitations had expired.
Kyros represented wrestlers in that case and told CNN that Massaro intended to file an appeal before her death.
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