Brandi Chastain Pledges Her Brain for Concussion Study

Brandi Chastain, who scored the game-winning penalty kick that gave the United States the 1999 Women's World Cup title, has pledged to donate her brain for concussion research when she dies.

Chastain announced her pledge to the Massachusetts-based Concussion Legacy Foundation on Thursday morning. Her brain will go to the VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank, a joint project with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University School of Medicine.

Researchers are studying the post-mortem human brain and spinal cord tissue in hopes of diagnosing and treating chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative condition caused by a blow or blows to the head.

The research team last month announced that it had found signs of CTE in the brain of former Oakland Raiders quarterback and NFL MVP Ken Stabler.