{"id":99303,"date":"2025-08-27T09:18:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T09:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/99303\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T09:18:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T09:18:09","slug":"footy-star-shane-christie-dies-of-suspected-suicide-aged-just-39-after-suffering-shocking-health-problems-from-a-string-of-concussions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/99303\/","title":{"rendered":"Footy star Shane Christie dies of suspected suicide aged just 39 after suffering shocking health problems from a string of concussions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rugby star retired in 2017 after experiencing health problems<\/p>\n

By SHAYNE BUGDEN, SPORTS EDITOR, AUSTRALIA<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 03:52 EDT, 27 August 2025 | Updated: 04:32 EDT, 27 August 2025 <\/p>\n

Former Super Rugby and M\u0101ori All Blacks<\/a> star Shane Christie is being mourned after his death from a suspected suicide aged just 39.<\/p>\n

The respected flanker was found dead in Nelson, New Zealand on Wednesday morning, with police confirming they attended a call-out for a sudden death, Stuff<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n

Christie played 29 Super Rugby matches for the Highlanders from 2014 to 2016, and also played 73 games for Tasman in addition to representing the\u00a0M\u0101ori All Blacks on eight occasions.<\/p>\n

‘It is with deep sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Shane Christie,’ NZ Rugby said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Shane represented Aotearoa New Zealand in both the All Blacks Sevens and the M\u0101ori All Blacks jerseys.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘He played in our domestic competitions and Super Rugby, forging deep connections with the Tasman Mako and the Highlanders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Shane <\/p>\n

Shane Christie is pictured playing for the Tasman side in 2016, his last year in the game before retiring due to concussion-related health problems<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The respected flanker (pictured) documented his dire health struggles and became an advocate for footy players who suffered the after effects of head knocks<\/p>\n

\"Christie <\/p>\n

Christie said he suffered as many as four concussions in the space of six weeks while playing for the Highlanders in Super Rugby<\/p>\n

‘He was passionate about coaching, holding coaching roles with Tasman, for both their women\u2019s and men\u2019s teams, and the Highlanders.<\/p>\n

‘Any time the rugby community loses a member it is felt deeply. Shane\u2019s passion for the game will be remembered always. Our thoughts are with Shane\u2019s wh\u0101nau, friends, former team-mates, and community at this incredibly difficult time.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

Christie said he suffered three or four concussions in just six weeks when he was playing for the Highlanders.<\/p>\n

He said the head knocks left him with debilitating symptoms.<\/p>\n

‘It feels like a bruise in your head, and when you’re walking, it hurts,’ he said.<\/p>\n

‘So when you’re thinking, it hurts, when you’re trying to exercise, the pressure hurts, and you’re not as fast and can’t think as quick.’<\/p>\n

Christie believed he was suffering from the deadly brain disease chronic traumatic encephalpathy (CTE), which results from repeated head knocks and has been a factor in the deaths of several high-profile football players across codes including rugby union, rugby league and gridiron.<\/p>\n

He became an advocate for players who suffered from the after effects of concussion and documented his struggles on social media.<\/p>\n

‘Over the months of May to September 2023, I gradually exhausted my brain’s energy and cognitive capacity, pushing myself to a point where I became delusional and paranoid,’ he wrote after the death of another Kiwi rugby star, Billy Guyton, in May that year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you need help, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636\u00a0<\/p>\n

Share or comment on this article:
\n Footy star Shane Christie dies of suspected suicide aged just 39 after suffering shocking health problems from a string of concussions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rugby star retired in 2017 after experiencing health problems By SHAYNE BUGDEN, SPORTS EDITOR, AUSTRALIA Published: 03:52 EDT,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99304,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,63,100,1736,6660,588,85],"class_list":["post-99303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-dailymail","tag-new-zealand","tag-rugbyunion","tag-sport","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}