Former Kangaroos star Ian Roberts will reveal rugby league has left him with brain da

[DC_fan]

KANGAROO great Ian Roberts will reveal on Sunday night that he is brain-damaged from his rugby league playing days.

In a gripping interview on Channel Seven’s Sunday Night program, Roberts exposes the after effects of a career for Australia, NSW, South Sydney, Manly and the Cowboys.

The 48-year-old says: “I have brain damage. I’ve been acting now for 10 years, studying lines and that kind of thing.

One day you have it down and then the next day you’re like I have just lost all that info (sic) again.

“That’s really, I mean really scary stuff . . .”

Fears of future legal action from battered old players like Roberts is why the NRL is treating concussion issues so seriously.



It’s why the shoulder charge has been outlawed and punching banned in recent years, much to the annoyance and irritation of old-school fans.

There is huge concern in the NRL about the concussion backlash in the US, with former NFL stars lining up to take legal action.

Roberts is one of the toughest and most fearless men I have ever seen on a football field.

He played the game with relentless aggression and as a result suffered a number of concussions.

“You know, when you are 25, at the top of your game, you know you’re ten foot and bullet proof,” he told the show.

RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER DONATES BRAIN TO RESEARCH

DEGENERATIVE BRAIN DISEASE FOUND IN FORMER RUGBY PLAYER

“I’m 48 at the moment and when you have those lapses I have to check myself and I’m like, ‘oh why can’t I remember that or am I remembering that rightly?’”

He also has advice for mums and dads that will alarm the NRL administration.

“I have got to say any parent, they have got to question the safety of their children (playing football),” he said.

It’s why the NRL is coming down so hard on incidents like the Sonny Bill Williams shoulder charge in the season opener that will sideline the Roosters champion for three weeks.

The Insight program on SBS on Tuesday will also reveal some alarming concussion statistics.

Hospitals in Victoria and NSW have noticed a 32 per cent increase in sports related concussions in children in the last decade, although approximately 75 per cent of concussions still go unreported and undiagnosed.
It’s why the NRL is coming down so hard on incidents like the Sonny Bill Williams shoulder charge in the season opener that will sideline the Roosters champion for three weeks.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...ith-brain-damage/story-fni3fbgz-1226848994798

 

[DC_fan]

It was only a matter of time before a former come forward with such a claim. If players take the NRL to court as has former NFL have done with their sport in the US, it could bankrupt the game.

This situation has serious repercussions as to how the game will be played in the future.

 

[man2iel_]

After what he did to Gary Jack (with Ridge); I suspect Jimmy Jack will raise his hand not long after.

 

[Brutus]

f**k off Roberts.

Nobody forced you to play RL.

Stop hanging around Nathan Bracken.

 

[man2iel_]

f**k off Roberts.

Nobody forced you to play RL.

Stop hanging around Nathan Bracken.

I understand the sentiment here. No one forces an individual to play ANY sport. Roberts played knowing the risks on the football field and in my opinion the individual has to take responsibility for his choice even IF there a effects on his health down the track.

This thread will possibly go on for some time and the reply needs much more thought/detail as it's a broad topic with pros and cons for both arguments here.

That said, I don't the time as bacon and eggs at the local café are calling.

 

[Usain Bolt]

Would hate to see how a guy like Dallas Johnson is in 20 years. Seemed like that bloke got knocked out 3 or 4 times a season.

 

[man2iel_]

Would hate to see how a guy like Dallas Johnson is in 20 years. Seemed like that bloke got knocked out 3 or 4 times a season.

Martin Lang is attempting to consider his options too I believe.

 

[eozsmiles]

I understand the sentiment here. No one forces an individual to play ANY sport. Roberts played knowing the risks on the football field and in my opinion the individual has to take responsibility for his choice even IF there a effects on his health down the track.

This thread will possibly go on for some time and the reply needs much more thought/detail as it's a broad topic with pros and cons for both arguments here.

That said, I don't the time as bacon and eggs at the local café are calling.

Nobody forced him to play, but once he was semi conscious and unable to make a rational decision as to whether it was safe to continue playing, there was little to no care given by others. Which isn't altogether their fault - lots of people were ignorant to this until recently.

 

[tumbidragon]

That acting career didn't work out huh... You knew the risks Roberts, along with any adult with half a brain who has played any form of contact sport.

 

[man2iel_]

Nobody forced him to play, but once he was semi conscious and unable to make a rational decision as to whether it was safe to continue playing, there was little to no care given by others. Which isn't altogether their fault - lots of people were ignorant to this until recently.

Agree. We learnt from past mistakes and all professional sporting codes today are making EVERY attempt to ensure player safety.

 

[innsaneink]

Bringing the kids game into it is f**king low

Too many ignorant parents look at NRL (not the u/7s or u/10s or equivalent of where there kids will play) ...they look at NRL & Origin and base their decision on little Johnny playing on that.

Yep...lets keep all the little chubsters indoors, because they can also fall when running, trying to kick a ball playing soccer & AFL...running is very very dangerous

 

[thorson1987]

Bringing the kids game into it is f**king low

Too many ignorant parents look at NRL (not the u/7s or u/10s or equivalent of where there kids will play) ...they look at NRL & Origin and base their decision on little Johnny playing on that.

Yep...lets keep all the little chubsters indoors, because they can also fall when running, trying to kick a ball playing soccer & AFL...running is very very dangerous

This.

People have no idea about how safe junior league is.

Yeah you get the odd kid with a bump every now and then, but what sports doesn't that happen in.

 

[The Great Dane]

I understand that the NRL should do everything in it's power to try and prevent concussion and other head injures that can lead to brain damage, but even way back when I last played the game we understood that every time you took to the field you were taking the risk of something like this happening to you.

In my opinion the situation here with the NRL is a little different to the situation in America with the NFL, where it is suggested that the NFL knew the dangers of concussion and tried to conceal it instead of warning the players and taking preventative measures.

There's no suggestion that that happened here in Australia where it seems that as soon as the NRl found out about the dangers they tried add in preventative measures, so I don't think that a law suit would get anywhere and again even back in my day we knew that every time we took to the field that their were many dangers, many that we didn't fully understand, so quite frankly I think it would be pretty piss poor if a group of ex-player sued the NRL/ARLC over this and that they'd only be doing it as a money grab.

 

[thorson1987]

Let's not forget that shoulder charges were rare when Roberts was playing.

 

[Walt Flanigan]

He's just after a handout because his epic role in Superman Returns didn't nab him an Oscar.

 

[man2iel_]

Bringing the kids game into it is f**king low

Too many ignorant parents look at NRL (not the u/7s or u/10s or equivalent of where there kids will play) ...they look at NRL & Origin and base their decision on little Johnny playing on that.

Yep...lets keep all the little chubsters indoors, because they can also fall when running, trying to kick a ball playing soccer & AFL...running is very very dangerous

Couldn't agree more. Well said.

 

[MacDougall]

That acting career didn't work out huh... You knew the risks Roberts, along with any adult with half a brain who has played any form of contact sport.

Nah his acting is going okay. Got a role in a film with the guy who played Dexter and the hottie from Watchmen. Damn that chick is fine.

 

[maccattack]

How is there concussion in the NFL? Isn't tgat why they wear helmets?

 

[DC_fan]

Boston researchers discover brain disease CTE — linked to violent sports and concussions — in Manly rugby great Barry Tizza Taylor’s brain

DEGENERATIVE brain disease linked to repeated blows to the head has been found in former Manly rugby player Barry “Tizza” Taylor, the New York Times has reported.

The discovery was made by researchers at Boston University and VA Boston Healthcare System, who have diagnosed many cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

After he died in April last year age 77, Taylor’s brain was donated to the brain bank at Boston University for researchers to use as part of a study testing for the condition known as CTE.

A degenerative brain disease frequently resulting in early dementia, CTE is caused by repeated concussions and subconcussive hits and is linked with sports involving frequent violent collisions.

Taylor, who started developing early signs of dementia in his late 50s, played rugby for 19 years including 235 games for the Manly club.

He then embarked on a successful coaching career, guiding the famous 1977 Manly Colts that included five future Wallabies — Phil and Mitchell Cox, Bill Calcraft, James Black and Rod Crerar — to an undefeated premiership.

He went on to coach Manly’s first-grade side, the Waratahs, Australia under-21s and Samoa.

However, by age 57 he had developed symptoms of early dementia, including short-term memory loss and erratic behaviour. He continued to decline.

Near the end of his life, he had severe memory loss.

“I took him for a walk and I was getting a lot of monosyllabic answers,” Taylor’s son Steven said.

“I said, ‘What’s your name, mate?’ He looked at me and just shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s the point he got to. He didn’t even know who he was ... It was a great waste, a great shame, knowing that the last 20 years did not have to be like this.”

Researchers found severe CTE signs in the shriveled and deteriorated brain of a Taylor, although there was more expected given the collision-filled nature of the sport.

The Boston team had previously tested the brains of deceased former NFL and ice hockey players and boxers for CTE, all sports known for violent hits.

They have also found evidence of the disease in 29-year-old Patrick Grange, a US semi-professional soccer player who died last April.

“He had very extensive frontal lobe damage,” said neuropathologist Ann McKee, who examined Grange’s brain.

“We have seen other athletes in their 20s with this level of pathology but they have usually been (American) football players.”

Repeated blows to the head in boxing and American football have caused damage similar to that found in Grange. Although he was proud of his ball heading skills, Ms McKee said his repeated heading of the ball could not conclusively be linked to his brain’s condition,.

“We can’t say for certain that heading the ball caused his condition in this case, but it is noteworthy that he was a frequent header of the ball and he did develop this disease,” she said.

“I’m not sure we can take it any further than that.”


CTE: chronic traumatic encephalopathy
A type of degenerative brain disease frequently resulting in early dementia It is caused by repeated concussions and subconcussive hits Similar to bruising on the brain, it worsens with age Symptoms include depression, memory loss, progressive dementia and impulse control disorders Commonly linked with sports involving frequent violent collisions

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...za-taylors-brain/story-fngr8hax-1226840536347

 

[herbert henry1908]

How is there concussion in the NFL? Isn't tgat why they wear helmets?

There's some belief that the modern helmets they're wearing are part of the problem. Basically they're too big.