Landmark study finds CTE in rugby league players

A study has found 31 rugby league players out of 51 whose brains were examined after death were found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

The degenerative brain disease, which can only be diagnosed after death, was discovered in players in their 20s, 30s and 40s who played the contact sport at various levels (ABC).

CTE is caused exclusively by repetitive hits to the head and body. Symptoms include memory loss, anxiety and anger (ABC).

Decorated player and NRL coach Paul Green, who died by suicide at the age of 49 in 2022, was among the players found with CTE. His widow Amanda Green has called for more education on the disease because “I owe it to my kids and their sports-loving mates” (ABC).

In a separate study published in June, 33 former professional and semi-professional AFL players had been diagnosed posthumously with CTE. Nineteen had died by suicide (The Saturday Paper).

Another recent study in the US examined 235 brains of the nearly 900 former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021. Of these, 215 were found to have signs of CTE (The Washington Post).

Read more: The contested science of head injuries in sport (The Saturday Paper)