Former Chicago teammate Dave Duerson holds up his drivers license that shows he is an organ donor at Chicago’s Soldier Field during a public memorial service for former Chicago Bears great Walter Payton, 06 November 1999. Payton, the NFL all-time leading rusher, died 01 November from liver disease. (Photo Credit: Getty Images, By Tannen Maury)
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MUNCIE, Ind. (CBS) — The family and friends of the late Dave Duerson, who spent seven seasons with the Chicago Bears, have created a program to help Muncie, Ind., high school and middle school athletes who suffer head injuries.
As WBBM Newsradio’s Dave Marsett reports, the Dave Duerson Muncie Community Schools Athletic Safety Fund is designed to help them avoid chronic traumatic encephalopathy caused by repeated brain trauma.
Duerson suffered from the condition before committing suicide a year ago.
The program will begin next school year. The Duerson fund will pay for baseline brain function tests for the athletes and help pay for post-concussion tests for those who cannot afford them.
Duerson starred at Muncie’s Northside High School and at Notre Dame before an NFL career in which he played on two Super Bowl championship teams, the 1985 Chicago Bears and the 1990 New York Giants.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Dave Marsett reports
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