--- description: Legendary BMX athlete Dave Mirra, who died in February, suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neuropathologist concluded title: Late BMX Athlete Dave Mirra Suffered From CTE image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01bc3cdad4dd9939/698894a5524fc07461df8219/dave-mirra.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Late BMX Athlete Dave Mirra Suffered From CTE  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 24, 2016 4:27 PM CUT  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](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 24, 2016 4:27 PM CUT Legendary BMX athlete Dave Mirra, who [died](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/02/04/dave-mirra-dead-bmx-biker-mtv-host-dies "undefined") in February, [suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy](http://espn.go.com/action/story/%5F/id/15614274/bmx-legend-dave-mirra-diagnosed-cte "undefined") (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/ "undefined"), 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/ "undefined") Mirra, who was 41, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. \[[_ESPN_](http://espn.go.com/action/story/%5F/id/15614274/bmx-legend-dave-mirra-diagnosed-cte "undefined")\] ```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":"2026-02-22T17:48:07.635Z","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"}}] ```