Ruled

Edited by Mark Bechtel

February 06, 2006

By the Allegheny (Pa.) County coroner, that the cause of death of former Steelers offensive lineman Terry Long (above) was suicide and not, as originally reported, football-related head trauma. Last September the coroner ruled that Long, who retired from the Steelers in 1991, died at age 45 of meningitis, a swelling of the brain caused by chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or "punch-drunk syndrome." But the following month toxicology reports indicated that Long, who had attempted suicide earlier, had ingested antifreeze. His death certificate was revised, but the change was not made public until the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported it last week.