Ex-Steeler Long drank antifreeze

The Steelers' team physician criticized the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office Thursday for maintaining that the repeated blows to the head Terry Long suffered during his football career contributed to his death.

The office has issued a revised death certificate showing that Long, 45, committed suicide at his Franklin Park home on June 7 by drinking antifreeze.

Dr. Bennet Omalu, who worked on Long's autopsy, still maintains the head injuries were a contributing factor because people with chronic encephalopathy suffer from depression.

"The major depressive disorder may manifest as suicide attempts," Omalu said. "Terry Long committed suicide due to the chronic traumatic encephalopathy due to his long-term play."

Steelers team physician Dr. Joseph Maroon, a neurosurgeon and nationally recognized expert on concussions, disagreed.

"Given Mr. Long's behavior and history, I think it is irresponsible and poor science to say that trauma from when he was playing football 14 years earlier led him to drink antifreeze," Maroon said. "It's incredible speculation."

Long's death was caused by meningitis, a swelling of the lining surrounding the brain.

Joseph Dominick, chief of operations for the medical examiner's office, said the antifreeze Long consumed caused the swelling in his brain and its lining, and the football-related brain injuries were a contributing factor to his death.

While head injures and post-traumatic syndrome can cause depression and personal problems, Maroon said such manifestations do not appear so long after the injuries occur.

"I think it (the medical examiner's position) is totally unfounded," Maroon said. "I don't believe a word of it."

Long, an offensive lineman, attempted suicide in 1991 using rat poison after he was suspended for violating the NFL's steroid policy.

Several months before he died, Long was indicted on federal arson and mail fraud charges in connection with an alleged scheme to get loans for his North Side poultry processing plant and then torching it to collect insurance money.

Long was in debt for as much $1 million when he filed for federal bankruptcy protection several days before his death.

"I've been dealing with the prevention of head injuries to athletes for the past 20 years," Maroon said. "I have never seen head injuries turn someone into an arsonist or someone who would defraud the government or get charged with felonies for writing bad checks."