Family Of Junior Seau Will Allow His Brain To Be Studied

San Diego Chargers chaplain Shawn Mitchell said the family of the late Junior Seau will allow his brain to be studied for evidence of damage, Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times reports.

 "The family was considering this almost from the beginning, but they didn't want to make any emotional decisions," Mitchell said. "And when they came to a joint decision that absolutely this was the best thing, it was a natural occurrence for the Seau family to go forward."

Seau, 43, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest, the Medical Examiner's Office announced on Thursday. Seau's method of suicide is similar to that of former Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson, who asked that his brain be donated for research that showed that he suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a progressive degenerative disease that has been linked to individuals who have suffered repetitive brain trauma.

Which research facility that will study Seau's brain has not been determined.