Marion Barber Family Decides on Donating Brain to CTE Research; Details on Former Cowboys RB Death

Additional details on the death of 38-year-old Marion Barber, former Dallas Cowboys running back, are emerging - along with news from Barber’s family regarding his wish to forgo CTE examination in his will.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Barber was discovered by police in his apartment in Frisco underneath a running shower, and it is believed he was there for a number of days based on the decomposition level of body.

Frisco police arrived on the scene on Thursday afternoon to perform a welfare check after a neighbor reported a water leak from Barber's apartment.

No foul play is suspended in the death of Barber, who was just over a week from his 39th birthday, and who is well-remembered for having engineered "The Greatest 2-Yard Run in NFL History.''

Said Barber's father, Marion Barber Jr.: "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 struggled with mental health issues following his seven-year NFL career, prompting speculation as to whether CTE played a role in his challenges.

But the Barber family will not be donating his brain to CTE research, according to the Star-Telegram.

"He was real specific in his will that he didn’t want that," Barber Jr. 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."

The Cowboys family continues to mourn the death of a running back with a signature style that the team described as "hard-nosed.''

Barber, as the Cowboys said, "ran with the will to win every down.''

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