Is there a link between CTE brain disease and violent crime?
When Noah Green, a 25-year-old with no known history of violence, crashed his car into a barricade at the Capitol building in Washington DC, killing one police officer, before lunging at others with a knife, his own family were grappling for answers.
“My heart just sank,” his mother, Mazie Green, tells me. It was a murder, which, on the face of it, had nothing to do with American football.
But three years on and speaking publicly for the first time since that day, Mazie says she now believes it has everything to do with American football.
Noah Green’s car after he rammed into a barricade at the Capitol building in Washington DC
Green was shot dead by responding police, and in the days after the killing the FBI recommended that Mazie submit Noah’s brain to be analysed.
The diagnosis came back months later, indicating Green had stage one Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, more commonly known as CTE.
It’s a brain disease caused by repetitive blows to the head and it afflicts participants of contact sport, including American football. Symptoms include aggression, paranoia and problems controlling impulses.
Noah Green with mother Mazie and his father
Noah and Mazie
“Noah took big hits,” Mazie says. At Alleghany High School in rural Virginia, Green had played in defence and was voted most valuable player and he later played for Christopher Newport University.
Teammates recall him being dependable and good-natured but Mazie says she noticed changes after he suffered several head injuries.
“He wanted to be tough, to prove himself,” Mazie says, “But there were changes. He would start wearing blankets around his head and I thought it was a teenage thing, but it was because he was so sensitive to the light. Then he would lose his keys and he forgot how to cook, prepare his meals.
“After that, he started with these really bad headaches. One day he said ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me, mum, I’ve lost 20 pounds…. I feel like I need to leave. I’ve got to get out of the country. They’re going to kill me, the FBI, they’re going to kill me.’
“He was paranoid.”
Mazie Green
Officer William Evans, the police officer who Noah Green killed, left behind two young children. I ask Mazie if she has any message for his family.
“Officer Evans should not have died that day,” she says, “Noah should not have died that day. Someone has to take the responsibility for telling parents what to do if something’s just not quite right with those kids that are out there playing football for entertainment.”
Shannon Terranova, the former spouse of Officer Evans and mother of his two young children, said: “I want to be mindful of all who are impacted by this real-life horror; but it is difficult for me to comprehend any rationalisation of what happened to Billy and the events that led up to his death. I appreciate the efforts in bringing awareness to the long-term implications of bodily trauma caused by sports injuries. However, nothing can justify what Billy’s co-workers and family experienced, saw, and felt on April 2 2021, and every day since.”
Christopher Newport University declined to comment on Noah Green’s case. Alleghany High School did not respond to Sky News’s request for comment.
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How CTE is diagnosed
The casket of US Capitol Police officer William “Billy” Evans. Pic: AP
The question over whether CTE is linked to violent crime has come to the fore after numerous incidents of violent ex-football players.
Former San Francisco 49ers star Phillip Adams shot dead six people in an explosion of violence in 2021.
He murdered doctor Robert Lesslie, his wife, Barbara Lesslie, and two of their grandchildren, Adah, 9, and Noah, 5 at their home in South Carolina.
He also killed James Lewis and Robert Shook, who were working on an air conditioning unit at the house. Analysis of Adams’ brain showed he had severe CTE.
Phillip Adams. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Kellen Winslow, another former NFL player, was convicted of multiple rapes in 2021.
His lawyer argued for his sentence to be reduced because of what he says was head trauma suffered on the football field. That potential mitigating factor was rejected by a judge.
Kellen Winslow. Pic: AP
Winslow at his sentencing hearing in March 2021. Pic: AP
Most experts say it is hard to say definitively what motivates someone to commit a crime, but the symptoms CTE causes could all contribute. More research into the causes of CTE and what factors might make some people more susceptible is under way.
Sky News was given access to the national sports brain bank in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where former professional and amateur American footballers are being urged to donate their brains for study.
Inside the histology laboratory, Dr Julia Kofler slices open a brain with a knife to show me the cross-section.
Brains examined by Dr Julia Kofler for CTE
It is impossible to diagnose CTE with the naked eye so she takes a tiny sample of the brain tissue and loads it onto a slide so it can be analysed under the microscope.
I ask if she thinks there is a link between CTE and violent crime. “It’s really difficult to draw any conclusions about what motivates someone to commit a crime based just on their pathology,” she says, “but we certainly know that neurodegenerative diseases can cause all sorts of different behavioural changes and changes in executive function and judgement, so it certainly could have contributed.”
Dr Julia Kofler
‘We watched him lose himself’
Karen Kinzle Zegel is one of those fighting for more research. Her son, Patrick Risha, had CTE and died by suicide aged 32. He had played American football throughout his childhood and at university.
“We watched him over 10 years, sadly lose himself, lose his dignity,” she says, “He was paranoid, he was argumentative.
“One time there was an incident with him and he said a homeless guy attacked him in Pittsburgh and he broke his hand punching this person. The rage he had was definitely scary.”
Photos of Patrick Risha
Patrick Risha had CTE and died aged 32 after taking his own life
Through her organisation Stop CTE, Karen is campaigning for the brains of those who commit mass violence to be analysed for traumatic injury.
“Every time we’re looking at the symptoms like ‘they lost a job, they, broke up with their girlfriend’.
“Everybody wants to know why, why would someone take another person’s life? But if you’ve dealt with somebody whose brain became unwired you see the lack of empathy. They don’t care about other people, sadly.
“We’re not going back to the root cause, which could be a damaged brain.”
Patrick Risha’s mother, Karen Kinzle Zegel
Concerns about brain injuries have contributed to the growth of flag football, a lesser contact sport which means fewer big hits and not an obvious danger.
But the popularity of the NFL as a spectator sport is enduring. Last week’s Super Bowl final was the most-watched TV event in American history.
But for its stars, the damage may already been done. The human cost of the richest sport league in the world is far too difficult to count.
Sky News contacted the NFL for comment about our report. In response, the NFL provided details of the funding they are giving into CTE-related research, mental health support and the physical safety measures they say they are taking in the sport.
All tourists – including those from Britain – will have to undergo a social media screening before being allowed entry into the US under new plans being considered by the country’s border force.
At the moment, Britons are among those who can visit for up to 90 days without a visa. They just have to obtain an electronic travel authorisation, known as an ESTA, for $40 (£30).
The potential social media mandate being proposed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would apply to anyone visiting, whether they require a visa or not.
According to a notice published in America’s federal register on Tuesday, foreign tourists would need to provide their social media from the last five years.
Pic: iStock
It will be “mandatory” to hand over the information, and other details – including email addresses and telephone numbers used in the last five years, as well as the names, addresses, numbers, and birthdays of family members – will also be required.
Currently, as part of the ESTA application process, a tourist from Britain would have to provide an email address, home address, phone number, and emergency contact details. If approved, the ESTA lasts for two years.
CBP is proposing that moving forward, ESTA applications would require a selfie.
It further wants to collect biometrics – face, fingerprints DNA and iris – as part of the ESTA application. It currently only records face and fingerprints upon arrival at the US border.
The proposed changes are open for public consultation for 60 days.
An ESTA application form. Pic: iStock
So much for free speech?
There have been several reports of travellers already having been denied entry into the US over social media posts and messages found on their personal devices after President Donald Trump took office in January.
This includes a French scientist who was turned away at the US border in March after messages “that reflect hatred toward Trump and can be described as terrorism” were found on his phone.
Despite Mr Trump vowing to “restore freedom of speech” on online platforms and end “federal censorship” when he took office, he has found himself at the centre of various free speech rows since.
In September, talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was taken off-air by Disney-owned ABC over comments he made about the assassination of the right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.
Mr Kimmel accused the Trump administration and its allies of “working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk”, with the president among those to pin it on left-wing extremism.
President Donald Trump has been at the centre of several free speech rows. Pic: AP
At the time, Mr Trump suggested certain networks should have their licenses revoked over a lack of support for him.
Mr Kimmel’s show was reinstated less than a week after his suspension following widespread backlash from celebrities and viewers.
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This is the reality of Trump’s trade war
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And in April, Harvard University sued the Trump administration for seeking “unprecedented and improper” control of the school, after it froze $2.6bn (£1.9bn) of its federal funding.
Harvard’s lawsuit accused the government of waging a retaliation campaign against the university after it rejected a list of 10 demands from a federal antisemitism task force, which included sweeping changes related to campus protests, academics and admissions.
A judge ruled in September that the Trump administration’s freeze of billions in research funding to Harvard was unconstitutional and retaliatory, a decision the US government vowed to appeal.
An agreement has not yet been reached, so the fight between the Ivy League university and Mr Trump rages on.
US
Egypt and Iran complain to FIFA after World Cup match scheduled to coincide with Seattle Pride event
Iran and Egypt have complained after FIFA scheduled a World Cup match between the two nations in Seattle to coincide with the city’s LGBTQ+ Pride festival.
Seattle’s PrideFest 2026, which organisers say regularly sees more than 200,000 participants, takes place on 27 and 28 June – immediately following the match.
Local organisers have said the 26 June game at the Seattle Stadium will include a “once-in-a-lifetime moment to showcase and celebrate LGBTQIA+ communities in Washington”.
Iran players pose for a team group photo before a match against North Korea in June 2025. Pic: Reuters
In Iran, where gay couples can face the death penalty, the president of Iran’s Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, condemned the decision to use Seattle as a venue and the timing of the match.
Mr Taj told Iranian state TV: “Both Egypt and we have objected, because this is an unreasonable and illogical move that essentially signals support for a particular group, and we must definitely address this point.”
He said Iran would bring up the issue at a FIFA Council meeting in Qatar next week.
The Egypt players line up during the national anthems before the match against Jordan. Pic: Reuters
The football federation in Egypt, where Human Rights Watch says people from LGBTQ+ communities face persecution, said in a statement that it had written to FIFA “categorically rejecting any activities related to supporting homosexuality during the match between the Egyptian national team and Iran.”
The letter also stated: “Information had circulated indicating the local organising committee’s decision and plans to hold some activities related to supporting homosexuality during that match” and the federation “completely rejects such activities, which directly contradict the cultural, religious and social values in the region, especially in Arab and Islamic societies”.
The Seattle Pride festival takes place in late June, attracting hundreds of thousands of people every year, like in 2023. File pic: AP
In Seattle, the local organising committee said it was “moving forward as planned with our community programming outside the stadium during Pride weekend and throughout the tournament,” having already promoted an art contest ahead of the match.
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It added: “We get to show the world that in Seattle, everyone is welcome.”
Seattle PrideFest has been organised in the city since 2007 by a nonprofit group which designated the 26 June match for celebration before FIFA carried out the World Cup draw on Friday.
On Saturday, FIFA announced the Egypt-Iran game had been allocated to Seattle instead of Vancouver, where the teams’ group rivals Belgium and New Zealand will play at the same time.
FIFA has been asked for a comment.
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