Former Raiders linebacker Neiron Ball dies at 27 after long battle with rare brain condition
Former Raiders linebacker Neiron Ball who was in a coma since December 2018 because of a rare congenital brain condition has died at age of 25, his family confirmed.
Ball's sister, Natalie Myricks, took to Facebook on Tuesday to write a touching post about her brother, saying: "We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Neiron Ball on September 10, 2019 at 4:15 am. The Ball family is forever grateful for the prayers, donations, and immense support of Neiron and his recovery. Neiron was a very special and loving father, brother, and teammate. Neiron has transitioned to a place of peace."
The player's family, last year, had created a GoFundMe page to assist paying for his medical bills, the family reportedly surpassed their goal of $100,000 as many players across the National Football League (NFL) donated to the page, including a $10,000 donation from Washington Redskins tight end Jordan Reed.
Raiders tackle Trent Brown, Ball's teammate and close friend, also paid tribute to the player in a series of tweets, with one of them saying: "Some tears you just don't be prepared for... suffer no more." Brown and Ball had played together in college at Florida and the two became ever closed when Ball became a Raiders rookie in 2015, and Brown played across the Bay for the 49ers.
Reports state that Ball was diagnosed with an arteriovenous malformation in 2011 while he was in Florida. The particular condition causes blood vessels to tangle and eventually rupture. The 27-year-old, however, beat his affliction and recovered to play. He also bounced back from a serious knee injury which required microfracture knee surgery and became Raiders' fifth-round draft pick. Ball played six games in his rookie year in 2015, starting twice and recording a sack against the Cleveland Browns, reports state.
Ball's physicians had initially thought that his condition had been corrected after he underwent radiation treatment, however, he suffered an abrupt episode nearly a year ago that left him in a medically induced coma.