Marion Barber’s family won’t donate brain to CTE research; details emerge on player’s death

Additional details on the passing of 38-year-old Marion Barber, former Dallas Cowboys running back, have emerged —including the Frisco authorities’ account of the scene and Barber’s wishes to forgo CTE examination in his will.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Barber was discovered underneath a running shower, believed to be there for days based on his decomposed body. Authorities arrived to perform a welfare check after neighbors of Barber’s reported water leaking from his apartment.

“Barber’s decomposed body was found in the bathroom of his apartment and may have been there for several days with the hot shower running,” said his father, Marion Barber II.

No foul play has been reported in the ex-player’s death. Barber’s cause of death has not been confirmed.

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“They are just using tissue as they dig further into the cause of death,” he added. “They are ruling out things. They haven’t seen any trauma, no foul substances in his body. His lungs were in working order. The heart and veins around the heart were good. They are ruling things out. Right now, we are just waiting.”

Barber reportedly struggled with mental health issues following his seven-season career, prompting questions about whether CTE played a role in his ailments. Barber’s family will not be donating his brain to CTE research, added the Telegram.

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“He was real specific in his will that he didn’t want that,” Barber II said. “We are going to respect that. But in the condition his body was in, according to the examiner, that probably would have been a moot point because of the decomposition.”