Wife of one-time 49ers hopeful talks about his cognitive decline, suicide

Dr. Bennet Omalu, whose research established the causal relationship between head trauma and CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) has agreed to perform the autopsy of a Dixon man who recently took his life believing he had brain damage from playing football, according to People.

Jason Hairston, 47, “took his own life” last week according to a post on his company’s website. Hairston played football in high school and college — where he sustained a serious neck injury which fractured his C5 and C6 vertebrae. He later had tryouts with the 49ers and Denver Broncos. He retired from football in 1996 without realizing his dream to play in the NFL. He then built a hunting apparel company valued at $50 million. But even as he achieved success in business, he sensed he was in cognitive decline.

“Over the years, I could see things change,” his wife, Kirstyn, told People. She said he underwent scans that revealed his frontal lobe, which controls impulse, judgment and memory, was completely compromised.

Kirstyn Hairston told People about a conversation she had with Hairston a few weeks before his suicide.

“Jason’s a tough guy, but he finally had a vulnerable moment with me,” she said. “He said, ‘It’s bad, I can’t remember anything anymore, I can’t remember people’s names.’ Then he said, ‘Please don’t leave me.’ I told him I never would — I told him, ‘I promise you, I will always take care of you.’ “

Hairston’s symptoms mirror those suffered by former NFL players discovered with CTE, which can only be diagnosed post mortem. Prominent NFL players discovered to have CTE include Mike Webster, Junior Seau, Andre Waters and former Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler.

Kirstyn said she was in New York the night her husband shot himself in the head. Their 10-year-old son called to tell her that Jason was “acting really different.” Jason took the phone, then hung up and went upstairs and took his life.

Kristyn wants to know if her husband had CTE. She also wants to advocate for CTE research and awareness.

“This has to get out, and this has to stop,” she said. “People have to know what they’re signing up for when they put their kids in football,” she said. “You think it’s not going to be you and you think it’s not going to happen to your kid, but it might. Is it worth your kid being suicidal? Is it (expletive) worth it? It’s not.”