Claude Lemieux’s family is donating his brain to CTE research, according to Chris Johnston of The Athletic.
Johnston, posting on X on Saturday, May 30, reported the family will donate the brain of the four-time Stanley Cup champion to the UNITE Brain Bank at the Boston University CTE Center “for research into the long-term effects of repetitive head impacts and traumatic brain injury.”
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Johnston reported Lemieux’s family made the decision with a desire to improve the lives of others.
“‘The family emphasizes that this decision is a gift to science, to athletes and to future generations of families seeking answers. No conclusion should be drawn at this time regarding any diagnosis,'” Johnston’s post, which includes a statement from the family, reads.
Lemieux died on Thursday, May 28 at the age of 60 just days after he carried the ceremonial torch into the Canadiens’ Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals. His cause of death has not been confirmed at the time of publication.
USA TODAY Sports contacted the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office but has been notified that the information it has for Lemieux is “exempt from public records.”
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The Palm County Medical Examiner’s Office told USA TODAY Sports in response to an open records request that “all public records you have requested for Claude Lemieux are exempt from public records as specified under SB 474 – FS 406.135. (2) (c).”
The Florida statute cited by the Palm County Medical Examiner’s Office was enacted in 2024 and exempts photos, videos, audio recordings and autopsy reports related to suicide victims from general public records requests.
There have been several studies on the possible connection with suicide and CTE. A 2021 study conducted by a group of scientists from Switzerland, Italy and other countries surveyed the effects of CTE on boxers, hockey players and football players.
“Progressive neuropsychiatric symptoms resulting from CTE could lead to suicidal ideation (SI) and eventually suicidal behaviour (SB), especially the more severe forms of SB such as medical serious suicide attempt (SA) and completed suicide,” the study said. “For example, CTE was confirmed in post-mortem examinations of over 100 former National Football League players and it was hypothesized that suicide in four of them could have resulted from CTE-induced behavioural changes, but it is difficult to make a direct connection in these cases.”
– Contributing: Mike Brehm and Mark Giannotto
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Claude Lemieux’s family to donate brain to CTE research
