Dr. Bennet Omalu -- the man who discovered CTE -- tells TMZ Sports, "There is no question in my mind that CTE drove Aaron Hernandez to suicide and other criminal and violent behavior."
FYI, Dr. Omalu is the real-life doctor who inspired the Will Smith movie, "Concussion."
We reached out to Omalu after Hernandez's fiancee filed her lawsuit against the NFL and the New England Patriots -- claiming the league failed to share information connecting CTE and suicidal tendencies.
Omalu believes she absolutely has a case -- and hopes Aaron's story will inspire parents to pull their kids out of contact sports.
"If you read my book 'Truth Doesn’t Have a Side' you will encounter the Chapter titled 'I bet my license OJ Simpson Has CTE,' therefore, it should not be surprising that Aaron Hernandez eventually committed suicide."
"I am yet to examine the brain of professional football player who does not have CTE or other forms of brain damage. And we have always known for centuries that if you suffer forceful and/or repetitive blows to your head in whatever human activity, you will suffer brain damage."
"If a child plays football, there is a 100% risk exposure to brain damage. No child under the age of 18 in today’s America should be playing any of the high-impact, high-contact sports, and the big six are football, ice hockey, mixed martial arts, rugby, boxing and wrestling."
"Let us keep our children healthy and make them play only non-contact sports."