Former NFL Player Kevin Turner, 46, Succumbs to ALS

Former NFL fullback Kevin Turner, who was drafted by the New England Patriots in 1992 and later played for the Philadelphia Eagles, died Thursday morning in Alabama at the age of 46. His passing comes after a devastating six-year battle with the motor neuron disease ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease) which he was diagnosed with in 2010.

Once a standout running back at the University of Alabama, more recently Turner has been making headlines as one of the lead plaintiffs in the concussion lawsuit brought by over 5,000 former players against the NFL. He accused the league of intentionally hiding the the potentially grave dangers concussions and repeated blows to the head pose to players.

Turner leaves after attending a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging

“Football had something to do with it,” Turner said in 2011 of his condition. “I don’t know to what extent, and I may not ever know. But there are too many people I know that have ALS and have played football in similar positions. They seem to be linebackers, fullbacks, strong safeties. Those are big collision guys.”

Because of his age at the time of the diagnosis, Turner stood to receive $5 million, money that will now go to his family, once all appeals in the case are exhausted. (The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit heard oral arguments in the appeal in November; judges have yet to rule.)

“It’s about helping people who had their brains affected in a very drastic way, and to make their lives so much more livable, not just them but their families, and to supplement their health care,” Turner told The New York Times in 2014.

Prior to his death Turner reportedly agreed to donate his brain and spinal cord for research and to determine if he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which can only be diagnosed posthumously. In addition to raising funds for ALS research through The Kevin Turner Foundation, Turner had also been involved with research that sought to link CTE to ALS.

A link that has yet to be established.

Turner sitting in his bed in December 2014

According to AL.com, “he was placed on hospice two days ago, and was surrounded by friends and family when he passed away. He leaves behind his wife, Allison, and his three children, Nolan, 18, Natalie, 15, and Cole, 12, as well as his parents, Raymond and Myra, Turner and other family members.”

Turner’s father posted the following message to Facebook shortly after his son’s death: