Former NFL player commits suicide

The death of former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver, 29, was ruled a suicide Wednesday, in the latest of several suicides among professional football and hockey players.

A medical examiner near Atlanta said Oliver died Tuesday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Other circumstances of his death were not immediately clear.

The deaths and suicides of some other football players have been linked to a brain disease that may be caused by head injuries.

In May 2012, former San Diego Chargers linebacker Junior Seau killed himself at the age of 43. The National Institutes of Health later found that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a neurodegenerative brain disease that can follow multiple hits to the head.

Former Atlanta Falcons safety Ray Easterling, 62, had killed himself just a month earlier. The autopsy found signs of CTE.

And in February 2011, former Chicago Bears defensive back Dave Duerson, 50, committed suicide. Boston University researchers determined that he also had the disease.

A study published in December in the journal Brain show that of 34 professional football players who had died, all but one showed evidence of brain disease.

In July 2012, the NFL launched a crisis support line for players, former players and their families.  

There has also been a number of suicides among hockey players over the last several years.

In 2011, two of the National Hockey League's enforcers – Wade Belak, 35, and Rick Rypien, 27 – took their own lives. A third enforcer, New York Ranger Derek Boogaard, 28, died of a drug overdose.

The Chargers offered condolences to the Oliver family in a prepared statement.

"Everyone in the Chargers family is sad today after hearing the news about Paul," the team said. "He was part of our family for five years. At just 29 years old, he still had a lifetime in front of him. Right now all of our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this most difficult time."

Al Jazeera and The Associated Press