Killer gridder had ‘severe’ brain disease

An autopsy found “severe” brain damage in Phillip Adams, a former NFL player who fatally shot six people and himself in April — and had an advanced case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated blows to the head.

Dr. Ann McKee, director of the CTE Center at Boston University, who examined Adams’ brain, said the former cornerback’s decades of playing football, and its associated repeated concussions and other head trauma, “definitely ... gave rise” to the CTE diagnosis.

“There were inklings that he was developing clear behavioral and cognitive issues,’’ McKee said of Adams at a press conference announcing the findings. “I don’t think he snapped. It appeared to be a cumulative progressive impairment. He was getting increasingly paranoid, he was having increasing difficulties with his memory, and he was very likely having more and more impulsive behaviors. It may not have been recognized, but I doubt that this was entirely out of the blue.’’

According to law enforcement, on April 7 in Rock Hill, S.C., Adams fatally shot physician Robert Lesslie; his wife, Barbara; two of their grandchildren, 9-year-old Adah Lesslie and 5-year-old Noah Lesslie, and two workers at the home, James Lewis and Robert Shook, both 38.

Adams was later found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The brain disease has a number of symptoms, including violent mood swings and depression. A number of former football players who have died by suicide — including Hall of Famer Junior Seau — have also been found to have had CTE, which can only be detected post mortem.

McKee, who appeared at the press conference with York County coroner

Sabrina Gast, said Adams had “severe” frontal lobe damage, similar to what was found in former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez, who died by suicide in 2017 while serving life in prison for a 2013 murder.

“So we have seen this behavior, McKee said. “We have even see homicidal behavior in other individuals diagnosed with CTE. It’s difficult to say that it alone resulted in these behaviors because usually it’s a complicated issue with many other factors. But certainly we have seen this behavior and it is in fact not what I would consider unusual in this disease.”

A toxicology report also found amphetamines, for which he had a prescription, and Kratom, an over-the-counter stimulant, in Adams’ system, but Gast said it was unclear how those drugs affected Adams’ behavior.

No motive has been found for the killings, but York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said Tuesday notebooks with “cryptic writing” found at Adams’ home are being examined by the FBI.

Adams, 32, played in the NFL over six seasons, with stints with the San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders, New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons. He played in college at South Carolina State.