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Tyler Sash

Tyler Sash
refer to caption
Sash at Drake University in 2012
No. 39
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born:(1988-05-27)May 27, 1988
Oskaloosa, Iowa, U.S.
Died:September 8, 2015(2015-09-08) (aged 27)
Oskaloosa, Iowa, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:Oskaloosa (Iowa)
College:Iowa
NFL draft:2011 / round: 6 / pick: 198
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:26
Forced fumbles:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Tyler Jordan Sash (May 27, 1988 – September 8, 2015) was an American football safety for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Giants in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL draft.

College career

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Sash played safety while with the Iowa Hawkeyes. He had 13 career interceptions for the Hawkeyes, which was five shy of the school record for career interceptions, originally set by Nile Kinnick from 1937 to 1939. He holds the Iowa record for career interception return yards with 392, a mark which also ranks fifth in Big Ten history.[1]

Sash with the Hawkeyes in 2009

Sash was named to the 2010 preseason Lott Trophy watchlist, a trophy named in honor of former college and Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Ronnie Lott and presented annually to the college football defensive player of the year. He was also named to the 2010 preseason Bronko Nagurski watch list, awarded annually by the Football Writers Association of America to the nation's best defensive player.[2]

Professional career

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On January 13, 2011, Sash decided to forgo his senior season to make himself eligible for the 2011 NFL draft. He was selected in the sixth round by the New York Giants and was a member of the Super Bowl XLVI championship squad.[3] In July 2012, he was suspended for four games by the NFL after testing positive for Adderall, which is on the league's list of banned substances. Sash said in a statement that he took the drug legally and "under a doctor's care for an anxiety condition" to help him with public speaking.[4] Sash was cut from the Giants on August 31, 2013.

Death

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On September 8, 2015, Sash was found dead in his Oskaloosa, Iowa, home around 8 a.m. local time. He was 27.[5] The autopsy report concluded that his death was caused by a mixture of drugs.[6] On January 26, 2016, five months after his death, Sash's family released the results of testing performed on his brain, confirming that he was suffering from stage 2 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease caused by head injuries, at the time of his death.[7][8] He is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease, which is caused by repeated hits to the head.[9][10]

References

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  1. ^ Rittenburg, Adam. "Big Ten rankings: No. 5, Tyler Sash". ESPN. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  2. ^ "Watch List". touchdownclub.com. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  3. ^ "2011 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  4. ^ Vacciano, Ralph (July 31, 2012). "Sash hit with four-game drug suspension". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  5. ^ Reister, Scott (September 8, 2015). "Report: Former Hawkeye football player found dead". KCCI News. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  6. ^ Wells, Adam. "Tyler Sash's Autopsy Reveals Cause of Death to Be Accidental Mixed Drug Toxicity". Bleacher Report.
  7. ^ Pennington, Bill (January 26, 2016). "Former Giants Safety Found To Have C.T.E." New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  8. ^ Nathan, Alec (January 26, 2016). "Tyler Sash, Former NFL Player, Found to Have CTE in Postmortem Study". Bleacher Report.
  9. ^ "The driving force behind Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)". Concussion Legacy Foundation. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  10. ^ Ken Belson and Benjamin Mueller (June 20, 2023). "Collective Force of Head Hits, Not Just the Number of Them, Increases Odds of C.T.E. The largest study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy to date found that the cumulative force of head hits absorbed by players in their careers is the best predictor of future brain disease". The New York Times. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
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