--- title: Dave Mirra: Late BMX Athlete Suffered From CTE description: Legendary BMX athlete Dave Mirra, who died in February, suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neuropathologist concluded canonical: https://time.com/4346489/bmx-dave-mirra-chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-24T16:27:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:55:32.933Z article:section: Sports og:title: Late BMX Athlete Dave Mirra Suffered From CTE og:description: He is the first action sports athlete to be diagnosed with the disease og:url: https://time.com/4346489/bmx-dave-mirra-chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01bc3cdad4dd9939/698894a5524fc07461df8219/dave-mirra.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: NIKE 6.0 BMX Open og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Late BMX Athlete Dave Mirra Suffered From CTE twitter:description: He is the first action sports athlete to be diagnosed with the disease twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01bc3cdad4dd9939/698894a5524fc07461df8219/dave-mirra.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Late BMX Athlete Dave Mirra Suffered From CTE > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: NFL Official Admits to Link Between Football & CTE [Watch (HLS stream): NFL Official Admits to Link Between Football & CTE](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QRvGduz7.m3u8) (1:00)  _Published 2016-03-15. A senior NFL official has finally acknowledged a link between football and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)._  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly May 24, 2016 4:27 PM UTC  Dave Mirra performs on his way to first place during the BMX Park Final of the Nike 6.0 BMX Open on June 27, 2009 at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois. Dave Mirra performs on his way to first place during the BMX Park Final of the Nike 6.0 BMX Open on June 27, 2009 at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly May 24, 2016 4:27 PM UTC Legendary BMX athlete Dave Mirra, who [died](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/02/04/dave-mirra-dead-bmx-biker-mtv-host-dies) in February, [suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy](http://espn.go.com/action/story/%5F/id/15614274/bmx-legend-dave-mirra-diagnosed-cte) (CTE), a University of Toronto neuropathologist has concluded. Mirra is the first action sports athlete to be diagnosed with CTE, ESPN reports. The neurodegenerative disease, a type of chronic brain damage, has been [found in many football players](http://time.com/4289745/nfl-concussion-symptoms-treatment/), and is being investigated further in athletes of other sports. It can lead to dementia, memory loss, aggression and depression. “It’s assumed it is related to multiple concussions that happened years before,” said neuropathologist Lili-Naz Hazrati, who made the diagnosis. She said the tau protein deposits in Mirra’s brain were the same as those found in the brains of former football and hockey players who have been diagnosed with CTE. “I couldn’t tell the difference,” she said in an interview with ESPN. “The trauma itself defines the disease, not how you got the trauma.” **Read more:** [_Concussion_ Expert: Over 90% of NFL Players Have Brain Disease](http://time.com/4158140/concussion-film-bennet-omalu-cte-nfl/) Mirra, who was 41, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. \[[_ESPN_](http://espn.go.com/action/story/%5F/id/15614274/bmx-legend-dave-mirra-diagnosed-cte)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4346489/bmx-dave-mirra-chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4346489/bmx-dave-mirra-chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/"},"headline":"Late BMX Athlete Dave Mirra Suffered From CTE","datePublished":"2016-05-24T16:27:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:55:32.933Z","description":"He is the first action sports athlete to be diagnosed with the disease","url":"https://time.com/4346489/bmx-dave-mirra-chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/","keywords":["Brain"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01bc3cdad4dd9939/698894a5524fc07461df8219/dave-mirra.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01bc3cdad4dd9939/698894a5524fc07461df8219/dave-mirra.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NIKE 6.0 BMX Open","caption":"NIKE 6.0 BMX Open","creditText":"Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4346489/bmx-dave-mirra-chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/","name":"Late BMX Athlete Dave Mirra Suffered From CTE"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"NFL Official Admits to Link Between Football & CTE","description":"A senior NFL official has finally acknowledged a link between football and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/QRvGduz7/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-03-15T15:44:27.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QRvGduz7.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4346489/bmx-dave-mirra-chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/","duration":"PT1M","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4346489/bmx-dave-mirra-chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```