The family of the late Tennessee Titans player Frank Wycheck have announced he had CTE after his death in 2023 at age 52.
Wychceck died from hitting his head after a fall at his home in Chattanooga, Tennessee in December 2023.
His two adult daughters have now announced that he was suffering from the degenerative brain disease that can only be diagnosed after someone has died – and it comes years after Wycheck himself said he thought he had CTE.
‘After my father’s retirement from professional football, our family faced challenges in understanding the physical and mental changes he was experiencing,’ Deanna Wycheck said in a statement.
‘We initially believed it was simply an inability to adjust to ‘normal’ life after the intensity of being a professional athlete. We witnessed our father becoming increasingly isolated and experiencing drastic mood swings. He became more impulsive, and often inconsistent and undependable.
‘At the time, I mistakenly attributed his struggles to missing the spotlight and camaraderie of his playing days.
The family of the late Tennessee Titans player Frank Wycheck have announced he had CTE
‘But now in hindsight, I understand that he was suffering from the symptoms of CTE due to the repeated trauma his brain and body endured over 11 seasons in the NFL.’
Wycheck, a tight end, retired from football in 2011 after 11 seasons in the NFL. He finished up with 505 receptions, 5,126 yards and 28 touchdowns over 155 games.
After his playing career, Wycheck moved into the media, doing color commentary for Titans radio. He was best known for his role in the ‘Music City Miracle’ – a play from January 8, 2000, during the 1999-2000 NFL playoffs.
His daughter’s statement continued: ‘My father put his body on the line throughout his career. He loved the game and even more so loved his teammates.
‘After retirement, he fought for years to bring light to his post-NFL journey and the fears he had around his struggles and symptoms that he knew whole-heartedly was CTE. He often felt forgotten and ignored, and that his situation was helpless.
‘Reflecting back, I wish our family had been educated on the signs and symptoms of CTE.
‘Instead of believing that something was inherently wrong with him, we now know he was doing the best he could as a father and friend under circumstances beyond his control.’
In 2017, Wycheck said to ESPN that he was certain he had the condition and had been frightened by reports of other ex-NFL players committing suicide.
Wycheck retired from playing in the NFL after an 11-year career for the Titans in 2001
‘I’m scared about the time if I actually get to that point where these guys (who have committed suicide) have snapped,’ he said. ‘What has made them snap?
‘And that is what I am scared of, that there is something that is going to come over me that is going to make me snap. And that’s the scary part about it. There is no one that can tell you really anything. It’s just, the damage is done.”
Wycheck’s family hope that they can raise awareness of the issue after making his condition public.
‘Our hope is that NFL alumni, who believe they are suffering from CTE, will be given the much-needed resources and guidance prior to their symptoms reaching a debilitating state,’ they said.
‘With on-going CTE research and diagnosis’, we hope future NFL alumni and families will be explicitly given an outline and plan of action in receiving care and treatment.
‘That’s what our father would have wanted.’
