Degenerative brain disease found in 31 former rugby league players

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-08/31-former-rugby-league-players-diagnosed-with-brain-disease-cte/107128192

In short:

Of 51 brains of former rugby league players examined, 31 were found to have CTE.

The disease was found in players in their 20s, 30s and 40s, from amateur to professional levels.

The findings were presented at the International Sports Concussion Conference in Melbourne on Tuesday.

96 points · 14 comments · view on lemmy.world

14 Comments

porcelainpitcher@lemmy.today · 23 pts · 4d

And people complain sports aren't what they used to be and it's all too soft etc. Well... This.

Gullible@sh.itjust.works · 13 pts · 4d (1 reply)

Frankly, I'm astounded that 20/51 don't have cte.

ryannathans@aussie.zone · 3 pts · 4d

Maybe they just died too early to see it

FistingEnthusiast@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 4d (5 replies)

League is a stupid excuse for a sport

It's thuggery for the simpletons

The fans want violent collisions

SkyezOpen@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 4d (2 replies)

American football is already brutal with all the crazy padding and helmets, doing that shit raw is beyond my comprehension.

Zagorath@quokk.au · 3 pts · 3d (1 reply)

League players don't tackle in the same way as gridiron. There's a very good argument to be made that gridiron would be made substantially safer by removing the helmets.

ace_garp@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3d

I've heard this put forward before, about the protective equipment causing more harm.

Gridiron players will go for harder hits, because they have pads and helmets, resulting in more bouncing of the brain inside the skull.

budget_biochemist@slrpnk.net · 0 pts · 4d (1 reply)

If you think that's brutal, FistingEnthusiast, what about fighting sports like boxing, MMA, UFC etc? The object of those games is to cause your opponent brain damage via KO. Celebration of violence and permanently harming your opponent.

FistingEnthusiast@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3d

Yeah, I do

And I say this as a bloke who has many years experience in martial arts

compuglobalhypermeganet@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 4d (1 reply)

Does football cause brain disease or does brain disease cause football?

Slartifartblast@piefed.social · 3 pts · 4d

Yes, it does.

Tenderizer@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 3d (2 replies)

I'm guessing David Pocock is one of them.

jaek@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 3d (1 reply)

He was a union player

shirro@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 2d

Union players start with more braincells.