Overview
- Smith was found unresponsive in a friend’s pickup and later died at a hospital after delivering pizzas to a homeless charity on Saturday, June 13.
- The family has sent his brain to Boston University’s CTE Center for postmortem examination to look for signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy and other trauma-related damage.
- Attorneys Harry Daniels, Bakari Sellers and Wayne Kendall have been retained by the family to investigate the circumstances of his sudden death.
- Santa Clara County’s medical examiner has not released a cause or manner of death and toxicology and other official tests remain pending, a process that may take weeks or months.
- Smith’s rapid rise as a dominant pass rusher, documented concussions and later off-field struggles are cited by the family as reasons for testing, and the results could inform broader questions about long-term brain risks for contact-sport athletes.