In 1999 Brandi Chastain scored the winning shootout goal in the World Cup soccer final against China, then stripped off her jersey and sank to her knees in exultation, arms thrust skyward.

Another image of Chastain recently emerged: Now 47, a mother and a coach, the soccer star announced that at death she will donate her brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation at Boston University, where researchers study chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease linked to concussions and head trauma.

CTE is a hot-button issue in football and boxing. With awareness rising, more athletes – mainly football players – are promising to donate their brains at death. But Chastain’s announcement is a reminder that CTE may not be a male-only affliction, nor is it limited to the hard hits of football.

No female athletes have been found to have had CTE, The New York Times reports. But CTE research is still in its infancy. Little is known about CTE in women because most of the research has involved men who played contact sports. Yet there is evidence that gender may play an important role in the consequences of concussions.

Chastain is still relatively young, and hopefully her donation will not become a reality for several decades. The researchers who ultimately study her brain may not have been born yet. Let’s hope that by the time her donation occurs, scientists will know much more.

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