Former Bear Mike Pyle Had CTE

CHICAGO, IL - Like they have with 87 other deceased NFL players, a brain-trauma research group at Boston University has found former Chicago Bears Center Mike Pyle had chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Candy Pyle received the news about her husband’s condition from the CTE group a few days ago. Although she had a right to keep the information private, both her and Pyle’s daughter from an earlier marriage spoke to the Chicago Sun-Times about it.

Pyle, a New Trier High School and Yale University graduate, was a center for the Bears from 1961 to 1969 and captained the 1963 NFL Championship team. He died earlier this year in July.

He now joins 87 (out of 91 others tested by the CTE group) as former players confirmed to have lived with CTE. That list includes Frank Gifford, Junior Seau, Dave Duerson, Mike Webster and John Mackey.

‘‘Getting the news, well, I don’t know if ‘comforting’ is the word,’’ Candy said. ‘‘But it certainly provides closure.”

She thanked the Bears and the CTE group at Boston University for the sympathetic way they have handled her husband’s situation. But the NFL has been less than supportive.

“Deny, stonewall, lie, then slowly give in as public attitude turns — that has been the NFL’s response. What else would we expect?” is how the Sun-Times put it.

Because the NFL enacted a “cutoff date” to be diagnosed and included in a settlement with the league, Pyle’s family won’t see a dime from the multi-billion dollar league.

Samantha, Pyle’s daughter who lives in California, said she is on “a mission” to spread the word about CTE.

‘‘Everybody knows that the last years of this are brutal. But people with CTE change years and years and years before you fully notice. They’re changing and suffering for so long.’’

‘‘I think, honestly, the changes were there when I met him 35 years ago,’’ Candy added. ”Only in retrospect can I see that.’’

more via the Chicago Sun-Times