Ontario minister and ex-CFL player will donate his brain for concussion research

Ontario’s Minister of Sport, Neil Lumsden, will donate his brain to research. 

The 10-year CFL veteran and four-time Grey Cup champion made the announcement at a press conference at Varsity Stadium in Toronto, on the very field where he used to compete as a star running back with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.

“If I'm going to continue to walk the walk, to try and make things better, then the next thing for me is to try and really make things better,” he said while standing at a podium near the 50-yard line.

Lumsden is one of several former football players donating their brains through the Concussion Legacy Foundation. The organization has been working in Canada, the United States and around the world to promote safer sports and athletics through education and innovation. They’re also working to bring an end to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE – a disorder found in the brains of professional football and hockey players, as well as other contact sport athletes.

CFL champion Tim Fleiser is the executive director of the Concussion Legacy Foundation’s Canadian chapter. He says he hopes the announcement shines a light on concussion research underway, telling CTV News that “brain injuries are a much bigger part of the mental health equation than anybody realizes.”

Speaking to a group of reporters, Lumsden said he’s had multiple concussions.

• Top science and technology headlines, all in one place

“I’ve had my bell rung a number of times.” However, unlike some of his former teammates, Lumsden doesn’t believe he’s had any long-term neurological injuries from his rough and tumble playing days. And that, in part, is why he says he’s donating his brain to research.

“Why haven’t I had some of the effects that some of my teammates who are either older or younger (have had.) Why have I been immune? There’s got to be a reason. I want the research to find out, when the time comes, to make things safer for those coming behind me,” says Lumsden.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) lies on the field after suffering a concussion during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Rebecca Blackwell / The Associated Press)

As part of his pledge, the Minister also announced $50,000 in provincial funding from Ontario to fund research that will collect data on the correlation between repeated head injuries and mental health issues in sport. While the financial investment may sound small to some, the director of the brain imaging centre at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Dr. Neil Vasdev says the money is going to fund crucial work.

“Every dollar counts, and this type of funding is really critical because what it allows us to do is the high-risk, high-gain things that we normally wouldn't have funding for,” said Vasdev, who added that the money will go towards work that traditional grants won’t cover.

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is looking for current and former athletes at any level, military veterans, and victims of intimate partner violence, for head trauma research. People can also register to become a brain donor through the Concussion Legacy Foundation.