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Frank Gifford played ten seasons in the NFL and won a title with the Giants
Kathie Lee and Cody have fought for CTE awareness since Gifford’s death
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Kathie Lee and Cody Gifford, widow and son of Frank Gifford, have revealed how chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) affected the late NFL legend before his death in 2015.
In an interview with PeopleKathie Lee and Cody revealed how the player-turned-broadcaster’s memory worsened as he battled the brain disorder that has affected so many former footballers.
“The NFL gave my dad a life,” Cody said. “But at the same time there were dangers.”
On one of his last nights with his father, Cody recalled that “in the span of a minute or two, he had forgotten everything he had just said.”
“He had been dealing with old age things,” Kathie Lee described in a previous interview. “Like losing your car keys and putting them in the microwave.”
Frank Gifford’s son and widow spoke about his short-term memory loss before his death.
Gifford played 10 seasons in the NFL with the New York Giants before working as a broadcaster.
The family began to notice problems in the years before Frank’s death at the age of 84. Kathie Lee insists that she hasn’t been the same since she saw Frank’s brain scan. She said Frank had stage four CTE, the most severe.
“It was heartbreaking to see,” Kathie Lee said. “We found damage to the hippocampus, which is the center of short-term memory… these are the accumulated blows that are received throughout life.”
Gifford played running back, wide receiver and defensive back for the New York Giants in ten NFL seasons. Over the course of his career, Gifford won one NFL title and appeared in eight Pro Bowls.
After hanging up his cleats, Gifford took his talents to the broadcast booth, working as a play-by-play commentator for CBS Sports’ football, golf and basketball coverage.
Gifford’s family is supporting a 2017 documentary titled ‘Requiem for a Runner’ exploring the effects of CTE.
“I just let out a big sigh,” Cody remembers watching the documentary. “I was struck by all the similarities these guys have gone through.”
Gifford married Kathie Lee in October 1986 and the two were happily married for almost 30 years.
Cody has since approached the documentary’s director and funded its first commercial release. The film will be available on Amazon, YouTube and iTunes on December 1.
Both Cody and Kathie Lee are committed to raising awareness about CTE and hope that there will soon be treatment for this condition.
“No one would care more than Frank if people and children were hurt,” Kathie Lee said.