Rugby received shocking news from New Zealand.
Scientific studies confirmed that
former player Billy Guyton
, who represented the Maori All Blacks and died suddenly in May 2023 at the age of 33,
suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy
(CTE), making him the first professional rugby player to die with this diagnosis. .
Guyton's family agreed to donate his brain to the University of Auckland for testing.
After several months, according to the diagnosis, the organ had
“changes compatible with chronic traumatic encephalopathy”
in stage 2, on a scale that goes from mild (stage 1) to severe (stage 4).
CTE is a degenerative brain disease that
is related to impacts to the head
.
Either from a single extreme blow, such as a car accident, or from small impacts to the skull area repeated over several years, such as those that can be repeated when playing a contact sport such as rugby.
The maximum complexity of this disease lies in the fact that it can only be completely detected post-mortem.
Although science tries to find a way to make accurate diagnoses in life.
Professor
Maurice Curtis
, co-director of the Auckland Brain Bank, confirmed that
“the diagnosis of a young person with CTE is significant as it indicates that very early in life the brain has been affected by blows to the head
. ”
Although regarding the results that were detected on Guyton, he assured that
“an Australian pathologist was sent to obtain a second opinion
. ”
The report presented, according to The Guardian, describes the appearance of a fissure in the middle of the brain.
Although it is not a sign related to CTE, it would also be associated with a traumatic injury that is rare to see in a young brain like Guyton's.
Guyton's brain was donated for study.
Photo: Super Rugby.
The rugby player in question was a scrum-half who played for the Blues, Crusaders and Hurricanes of Super Rugby.
He had to put an end to his short but successful career in October 2018, when he was 28 years old.
The reason that prompted him to make the decision was the repeated symptoms related to certain episodes of concussion
, caused by blows to the head that he had recently suffered.
One of the factors that showed him that his body was not in the best condition was when he noticed that it was increasingly difficult for him to play with his two-year-old daughter.
“Watching television gave me headaches, as did doing too many tasks and loud noises.
Some days she needed noise-cancelling headphones
or felt nauseous and had blurry or double vision.
“It wasn't very fun
,” he declared at the time.
Even his father confessed that in the months before his death
“he spent hours in a small, dark closet because he couldn't stand the light
. ”
Remembering his son, John Guyton added of his son:
“Some mornings he would just sit in the shower crying, trying to get the energy to get moving
. ”
National entities, sued for lack of protection
The brain disease that Billy suffered could cause a before and after in the world of rugby.
The
New Zealand Rugby Union warned in a statement
that it is
“concerned about the possibility that repeated impacts to the head could contribute to neurodegenerative diseases in the future
. ”
Although
Guyton's case represents the first confirmed death from CTE
, there are dozens of rugby players who were diagnosed with suspicions of suffering from the disease.
New Zealander Carl Hayman and Steve Thompson, world champion with England, are some examples.
Billy Guyton passed away a year ago and it was just confirmed that it was due to a brain disease.
Photo: Twitter.
Some 300 retired rugby players who suffered neurological injuries sued the
Rugby Union of England and Wales
for not feeling protected during their sporting career.
Early onset dementia and Parkinson's disease are other diagnoses that the players received, in addition to those who present a possible CTE.
"Everyone who cares about collision sports has to accept that in the coming decades
we will witness the premature death of many more players due to their neurodegeneration
," says one of the representatives of the players in this lawsuit, to the which the confirmation of Billy's death can increase the crossfire.
Since Guyton never played in any of those British countries, his family does not have authorization to join the claim.
Guyton Sr. has only one hope:
“I hope Billy's death blows a lot of bulls out of the water.
“Rugby is so keen to pass this off as depression that it is happy to ignore the obvious
. ”
Given the judicial situation,
the organizations affirm that the well-being of the players is their utmost concern
and are analyzing changes to reduce the risk of head injuries.
These include the ideas of "the introduction of smart mouthguards, lower tackle height, contact guidelines, changes in laws, mandatory education for community coaches and many other initiatives."
But the complainants seem to turn a deaf ear to any measure that does not have immediate effect.
"
Many more will be found to have CTE post-mortem
. There is an urgent need for these sports to limit the amount of contact players have over 30-game, 11-month seasons. Playing elite rugby is as dangerous for the brain as ever ", say the retired players in their fight, which will possibly have Guyton as its greatest exponent.