Former NHL player Reggie Fleming, who died in July, had brain damage due to repeated head trauma, the New York Times is reporting. Fleming, who spent 12 seasons in the NHL, was found by Boston University researchers to have had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disease that causes cognitive decline, behavioral abnormalities and ultimately dementia. "Boxing we've known for a long time, football we've recently become aware of -- now hockey," Dr. Ann McKee, a neuropathologist at Boston University. "Repetitive head injuries can have very serious long-term consequences, regardless of how you get them."