Former All-Pro NFL defensive end Bubba Smith - who starred as `Hightower' in the Police Academy series - has been posthumously diagnosed as suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Smith, who died in 2011 aged 66, has become the 90th former NFL player diagnosed with CTE since 2008 at a laboratory affiliated with Veteran Affairs, Boston University and the Concussion Legacy Foundation.
Out of four stages of the disease, the foundation said Smith had stage three CTE.
Other former NFL players diagnosed with CTE include Hall of Famers Frank Gifford, Ken Stabler, Mike Webster and Junior Seau.
A 1966 All-American for Michigan State who later was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, Smith was the first overall pick in the 1967 NFL draft by the Colts.
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A fearsome pass rusher, he made two Pro Bowls with them and won a Super Bowl for the 1971 season.
Smith also played for the Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers.
He became an actor and is best known for playing Moses Hightower in the first six `Police Academy' movies.
