Boogaard's Brain Donated to Science

The New York Ranger's brain will go to the Sports Legacy Institute, a group studying degenerative brain disease in athletes.

The family of the recently deceased NHL player Derek Boogaard has decided it will donate his brain to science. His brain will go to the Sports Legacy Institute, which, in tandem with Boston University Medical School, helps to advance the study of brain trauma in athletes. Ryan Boogaard, Derek's younger brother, said, "Derek loved sports and obviously in particular hockey, so we believe Derek would have liked to assist with research on a matter that had affected him later on in his career." Boogaard had suffered many concussions throughout his career, including a recent season-ending concussion in December that forced him to stay inside his apartment for three weeks before passing away. The official cause of Boogaard's death could take as many as two weeks to be determined.