Retired U.S. striker Abby Wambach has announced that she will join fellow former national team standout Brandi Chastain in donating her brain for concussion research.
Wambach, 35, who retired in October 2015, shared her plans during an event at Ohio State University, according to Sports Illustrated.
World Cup-winning teammate Megan Rapinoe was also in attendance at the event, and echoed Wambach's promise by making one of her own.
Related: Brandi Chastain agrees to donate brain for CTE research
Concussion-related injuries in football have become a focal point of discussions among athletes and doctors due to links between repetitive head trauma in sports and degenerative brain disease.
The degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was initially known in sporting circles as dementia pugilistica or "punch-drunk," referring to boxers who had suffered progressive disease as a result of repeated blows to the head.
Only in the last decade has concern surrounding CTE spread to the rest of the sporting world, with Wambach, Rapinoe, and Chastain continuing a trend of former professional athletes who are donating their brains for research.
Related: 3 former Raiders to donate brains for CTE research in honor of Stabler
On Saturday, three former Oakland Raiders agreed to donate their brains for research in memory of deceased quarterback legend Ken Stabler, who was suffering from CTE while dying of colon cancer.
In 2015, the U.S. Soccer Federation banned the act of heading a ball in matches for children under 10 years old, with those ages 11-13 forbidden from doing so in practice.
