Bill Gates, a former Middlesbrough defender who, after retiring, spearheaded a campaign exposing the connection between dementia and heading footballs, passed away at the age of 79.
Before retiring at the age of thirty, Gates, who played for Jack Charlton’s Division Two promotion-winning team in 1973–74, suffered from a severe brain condition.
In 2014, dementia was also detected in former center-half Gates.
In response, his wife Dr. Judith Gates established the nonprofit Head for Change.
As Dr. Gates put it, “Bill was unique.” “As soon as he received his diagnosis, he pushed his family to form a nonprofit to shield athletes from today’s and tomorrow’s brain degeneration brought on by repeated head trauma.
“He asked for a solemn promise and made a personal commitment that together we must do everything to prevent this from happening in the future.”
The Billion Pound Game, a new documentary inspired by Bill Gates’ cognitive deterioration, will premiere on Wednesday at the Tees Valley International Film Festival at Arc, Stockton.
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