A rugby player from New Zealand who had suffered from numerous concussions and wanted to study his brain passed away at the age of 39, according to the police.
Shane Christie, who played for the Highlanders in Super Rugby and for New Zealand Maori, was found dead early on Wednesday morning when police were called to his Nelson home.
The coroner will receive the death, according to police, and we have no further information or comments to offer.
Christie had a suspicion that he had Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain condition linked to a number of suicides in the National Football League players, in the United States. In 2016, the NFL acknowledged the relationship between CTE and American football.
Only post-mortem can reveal the condition. In an effort to make rugby a safer sport, Christie had stated that he intended to give his brain to scientists so they could study it.
Without brain donations, we won’t be able to determine the duration of this disease. In a recent interview, Christie stated that it is crucial to support research in New Zealand.
Billy Guyton’s friend and teammate, Christie, who passed away from suicide in 2023, became the first rugby player in New Zealand to have CTE diagnosed. The Billy Guyton Foundation, which is aimed at improving our understanding of concussion effects, was founded by Christie.
At a foundation event last year, Christie said, “Bill motivated me to have the courage to speak my mind about what I see.”
Christie claimed to have experienced headaches and memory lapses after a number of concussions while playing for the team and that he had previously had one. CTE is known to alter one’s mood, behavior, and cognitive function.
When you walk, it hurts, and it feels like a bruise in your head. He was quoted as saying, “So when you’re thinking it hurts, when you’re trying to exercise, the pressure hurts, and you’re not as fast as you can’t think as quickly,” he was saying.
Former NFL players have been cited for a number of violent deaths.
According to a study conducted by the Boston University CTE Center in 2023, 345 of the former NFL players’ brains were identified as having CTE.
According to New Zealand Rugby, Christie became passionate about coaching after beginning his professional football career.
New Zealand Rugby said that whenever a player leaves the rugby team, they are deeply affected. “Shane will always be remembered for his enthusiasm for the game. At this extremely challenging time, we are in the thoughts of Shane’s whanau (family), friends, former teammates, and community.
British law firm Rylands Garth reported that more than 1, 000 former rugby players were reportedly filing legal claims against sporting governing bodies in June because of claims they had suffered brain injuries during their careers.
Before the case might go to trial in 2026, it claimed more than 520 former rugby union and rugby league players signed on to the lawsuit.
Claimants are suing World Rugby, the governing bodies of 15-a-side rugby, the English Rugby Football League, and the British Amateur Rugby League Association, the company said, for lost earnings, medical bills, and medical expenses incurred by their injuries.
Source: Aljazeera
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