Former president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Gay Culverhouse died Wednesday at her home in Fernandina Beach, Fl.
Culverhouse suffered from complications from myelofibrosis, a form of chronic leukemia inhibiting the production of red blood cells. The daughter of late Buccaneers owner Hugh Culverhouse had battled the condition, which left her severely anemic, since 2003.
“We are saddened to hear of the passing of Gay Culverhouse earlier this week,” Buccaneers owner and co-chairman Bryan Glazer said in a statement. “During her family’s ownership of the Buccaneers, Gay was a leading figure in and around the Tampa Bay community who was defined by her compassion for helping others. Her tireless work as an advocate for retired NFL players is also an important part of her personal legacy. We send our heartfelt condolences to her children, Leigh and Chris, and the entire Culverhouse family.”
Gay Culverhouse became a major advocate for player safety measures. She testified before a House Judiciary hearing on head injuries among NFL players in 2009, 15 years after leaving the team. She sought mandatory benching of players who had suffered from concussions and for independent neurologists to evaluate players on the field. The NFL implemented such policies in 2013.
“The team doctor is not a medical advocate for the players. The team doctor’s goal is to get that player back on the field even if that means injecting the player on the field,” Culverhouse testified before the House Judiciary Committee.
“Gay was an individual. None of society’s boundaries stopped her,” Ms. Culverhouse’s brother, Hugh Culverhouse Jr., wrote in an email to the Tampa Bay Times. “She did what she felt was right, regardless of consequences to her.”
