ATLANTA — He was known as “Mr. Falcon." Tommy Nobis, the first Falcons player ever drafted – in 1966 – lived a big life on and off the field. Football was his life – and part of his death.
On Tuesday, Boston University's CTE Center, the Concussion Legacy Foundation and the Nobis family revealed that Nobis had a severe form of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. The football legend died in 2017 at 74, and brain trauma researchers at Boston University said Nobis had the most devastating form of the disease – Stage 4 – showing “a severe loss of neurons and large CTE lesions throughout the cerebral cortex.”
The brain disease, caused by repeated blows to the head during his football career in college and with the Falcons, put Nobis and his family through years of hurt and even fear, his daughter, Devon Jackoniski, said Wednesday in Atlanta.
“We always just thought it was part of my dad’s personality,” Jackoniski said. "He was a great football player, he was mean on the field, he was focused, he was determined, and so it never dawned on us 20-plus years ago that he actually had a problem" that disrupted his life and the families' lives in the years after he retired.
Nobis dedicated his life after football to helping disabled children, but he could also be a source of fear to his own family, at times – and that side of him is difficult for Jackoniski to discuss.
“My mom felt like he may have been showing signs of CTE in college," she said. "There were a lot of rage issues. He had more depression as it advanced ... My dad was given a lot of [prescription] drugs, and none of them helped. In fact, a lot of them hurt him. But the doctors were doing anything and everything they could to try to minimize some of the [undiagnosed] problems he was having.”
RELATED: Tommy Nobis, first Atlanta Falcons player, suffered from CTE trauma before his death, study finds
Now, Jackoniski and her family understands why he was the way he was. The study of his brain in the months after his death confirmed CTE was the reason behind her father’s anger and his sometimes violent outbursts – something she witnessed along with her two brothers while they were growing up.
If only they knew then what they know now, she said.
“We wouldn’t have been as angry with our father,” Jackoniski said. “We probably would have still been fearful, because some of the triggers, we just never knew what would trigger his anger.”
Jackoniski was only 2 years old when her father retired from the Falcons and the NFL, but football was always part of his life. As part of the Falcons family, Nobis worked in the front office in scouting, marketing and player development.
Learning now that Nobis lived with CTE is not a surprise, Jackoniski said. But there is relief, she said, knowing what was wrong, and regret about what the family might have been able to do to help him if he and they knew about CTE before he died.
“I think there were times when he was trying to cry out to us, and we really didn’t know what he was trying to tell us, and he couldn’t convey that to us,” Jackoniski said. “So, we weren’t surprised" to find out, "but it came with a lot of sadness.”
RELATED: 'Mr. Falcon' Tommy Nobis dead at 74
Nobis was the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 1966 NFL draft – the first ever selection for the Atlanta Falcons franchise. The accolades never stopped – Nobis made an immediate impact on the first-year club as he was named Rookie of the Year and voted to the Pro Bowl that season, after setting a franchise record with 296 total tackles.
But he never made it to the playoffs – and when the Falcons reached the Super Bowl two years ago, he may not have fully understood, because of his fading awareness, how his passion for Falcons football came to fruition that year.
Now, Jackoniski is determined to carry on her father's passion for helping others – through educating parents, coaches and children about the risks of traumatic brain injuries in all contact sports, and about safe play and how to recognize and prevent concussions and head injuries.
“The focus is the little ones. Because the more concussive events they have at a young age, the greater chances they have to develop irreversible damage,” Jackoniski said.
She hopes she can help her father now, honoring his legacy, dedication and passion by speaking out.
“We loved our dad dearly. He was a kind, generous man,” Jackoniski said. “We talk about how we didn't probably know who my dad really was, but we knew he had this incredible heart, and loved to give and give and give, and so by doing this and by coming out with his CTE diagnosis, we felt like we were going to give back to the community, just like my dad did for so long.”
