these players have publicly acknowledged either having been diagnosed with likely cte or having experienced symptoms, such as dementia or unusual memory loss, consistent with cte. in some cases, the player has received a diagnosis of als but symptoms are consistent with cte. there are at least two dozen former players who were diagnosed as part of a ucla study but have not come forward publicly. there are also around 4,500 former players who joined a class action lawsuit against the nfl alleging that it had covered up a growing body of medical evidence about the preponderance of head-trauma related cte in ex-nfl players.