The sister of former AFL star Shane Tuck has revealed the 38-year-old’s final days were a living hell.
The revelation comes as the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) released a position statement on Wednesday calling for low or no contact versions of sport be played until the age of 14.
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The RCPA’s statement calls for the Federal Government to adopt recommendations put forward by a Senate inquiry into head trauma, as it became the first medical college to officially recognise a link between repeated traumatic brain injury and CTE.
RCPA president Dr Lawrie Bott said the evidence was clear and that the government needed to act.
“As a doctor, it worries me that we are continuing to expose boys and girls and young men and women to lifelong devastating harm, when we already have significant evidence as a community,” he said.
Tuck is a former 173-game Richmond Tigers star who died by suicide in 2020.
After his death his brain was donated to the Australian Sports Brain Bank, with executive director Associate Professor Michael Buckland saying Tuck had the worst case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) the centre had ever seen.
CTE is a brain condition associated with repeated blows to the head.
Symptoms vary in severity, but include memory problems, issues with cognitive function and depression.
The neurodegenerative disease has been diagnosed in the likes of AFL legends Polly Farmer and Danny Frawley, NRL greats Paul Green and Steve Folkes, as well as AFLW star Heather Anderson.
Tuck’s sister Renee revealed that before his death her brother’s 38-year-old brain had degenerated so much he was hearing voices in his head.
“Shane was the biggest, strongest, mentally strong bloke that I’ve ever known, and he ended up killing himself because his brain was just toasted,” she said via the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I don’t want anyone to ever have to go through that.”
Renee Tuck has been an outspoken advocate for her late brother, telling the Coroner’s Court in July Shane’s brain was “riddled with lesions”.
“CTE is real and it is unrelenting,” she said at the time.
“It brings a strong man absolutely to his knees and in Shane’s case to his death. He pushed through hell to stay with us for as long as he could and in his death he found his peace but our agony at living without him began.
“Little did we know his brain was rotting away … Shane’s final days on earth was a war zone inside his head.
“If not for CTE, Shane would have lived a long life because he looked after himself so well.
“He would have lived to see his kids grow up.
“I hope that from what they hear through Shane’s story, it will give an understanding of how precious our brains and our minds truly are.
“When it comes to CTE, prevention is the cure and education is the power.”
Australian Sports Brain Bank executive director Associate Professor Michael Buckland told The Medical Republic: “When you take a social history you talk about drug, alcohol and tobacco use because you know those behaviours are associated with a constellation of diseases.
“And similarly, we know that exposure to contact sports participation and length of participation determines your risk of developing CTE later in life.
“I think that’s a really important thing for all doctors to know, to consider, when assessing someone for mental health issues or cognitive or behavioural issues.”
He added CTE wasn’t just restricted to professional athletes.
“We now have more amateurs than professionals (with CTE at the brain bank),” Professor Buckland said.
“But obviously, there’s a lot more people playing amateur sport, so you can’t infer the prevalence of the disease, but it definitely affects amateurs as well.”
Buckland said the evidence showed that a player’s risk of developing CTE increased the longer they played contact sport.
Buckland examined Tuck’s brain and found it to be the most severe case of CTE he’d seen — but also the youngest.
The recommendations from the RCPA include sporting history to be included in routine medical routine medical records, as well as calling for the government to develop standardised concussion and head trauma guidelines for GPs.
Amanda Green, who’s husband Paul Green’s death by suicide shocked the NRL community in 2022, also said she had no idea about the seriousness of CTE.
She said despite her children being involved in contact sport, her husband’s shock death made her question their involvement.
“Both of my kids love sport, and it’s part of our society and how they socialise,” she said via SMH.
“For me, it’s all about supporting research and understanding this disease, so experts can make those decisions about what’s the safest environment for our kids to play in.”
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