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Rashaan Salaam, the former college football standout whose 

 in a Boulder, Colo., park earlier this month, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to the Boulder County Coroner's office.


Salaam won the 1994 Heisman Trophy — awarded to the best player in college football — after rushing for more than 2,000 yards as a junior at the University of Colorado. He went on to play parts of four seasons in the NFL, winning the NFC Rookie of the Year award with the Chicago Bears in 1995. But his promising career was cut short, in part because of injuries.

Salaam was 42-years-old when his body was found on Dec. 5.

The Boulder County Coroner's office says it offered to test Salaam's brain for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, but his family denied consent, citing religious reasons.

, a Hall of Fame Linebacker who shot himself to death in 2012.

CTE can cause, depression, impulsive behavior, suicidal tendencies, and emotional instability, among other symptoms, 

 and has been linked to the repeated collisions sustained during long careers playing football.
Even though Salaam's brain wasn't tested for CTE, his brother, 

Jabali Alaji told USA TODAY earlier this month

 that Salaam appeared to have CTE symptoms:


 reported that Salaam had moved near Boulder recently, home of the University of Colorado, and his greatest achievements on the football field. But a onetime teammate told the paper that Salaam 

Health

Sports

Ammad Omar

Author

Rashaan Salaam won the 1994 Heisman Trophy as college football's most outstanding player.

Former football star Rashaan Salaam's death ruled a suicide

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