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☆ Billy Guyton: First New Zealand professional rugby union player confirmed to have died with CTE
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A former professional rugby union player, who who died in 2023 at the age of 33, has become the first in New Zealand to be formally diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) – the neurogenerative disease associated with repeated head trauma. Billy Guyton died of a suspected suicide last year, CNN affiliate Radio New Zealand (RNZ) reported, and his family subsequently donated his brain to Auckland’s Neurological Foundation Human Brain Bank which made the CTE diagnosis. CNN has contacted New Zealand Rugby for comment. Around the world, players are grappling to deal with the impact of head injuries sustained during their rugby careers. In the UK, some 450 current and former rugby players have now joined lawsuits to take legal action against global governing body World Rugby and the national governing bodies of England and Wales, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), Rugby Football League Limited, International Rugby League Limited and British Amateur Rugby League Association.

Persons: CNN —, Billy Guyton, Maurice Curtis, John, RNZ, “, ”, Billy, That’s, Australia – Guyton, ” John Guyton, Michael Buckland, Curtis Organizations: CNN, rugby, Radio New Zealand, Neurological, Brain, Auckland Brain Bank, Super Rugby, Australia, Nelson Weekly, New Zealand Rugby, Australian Sports Brain Bank, World Rugby, Rugby Football Union, RFU, Welsh Rugby Union, WRU, Rugby Football League Limited, International Rugby League Limited, British Amateur Rugby League Association . Lawyers, University of Glasgow, Boston University, University of Sydney, Prevention, Befrienders Locations: New Zealand, Auckland, England, Wales

☆ Dementia and sport: These rugby players represented their country in their 20s, by their 40s, they had early onset dementia
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Amy Woodyatt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Popham’s wife, Mel, would have a conversation with her husband and an hour later he would have “no recollection,” he tells CNN Sport. Richard Boardman, the lawyer representing the claimants, told CNN Sport that this is causing an “existential threat” to the game. “As far as the brain is concerned, it doesn’t matter what sport is played,” Michael Grey, a neuroscientist at the University of East Anglia, told CNN Sport. Nowinski, a WWE wrestler turned neuroscientist, told CNN Sport that head injury protocols need to go beyond treating concussion. The paper, which looked at 412 Scottish former international male rugby players aged 30 and above and 1,236 members of the public who had been matched for age, sex and socioeconomic status, found that the rugby players’ risk of a dementia diagnosis over time was just over twice as high.

Persons: Alix Popham, Mel, ”, Popham, ” Popham, I’ve, Alix Popham of Wales, Pat Riordan of, Stu Forster, Lenny Woodard, Woodard, “, “ I’d, I’d, ” Woodard, Brook Joyner, Richard Boardman, ” Michael Grey, Chris Nowinski, Scott McIntyre, Nowinski, ” Ann McKee, ” Boardman, Roger Goodell, University of East Anglia Boardman, Grey, –, ” Steve Borthwick of, Alun Wyn Jones, Paul Harding, ” Grey, McKee, it’s, aren’t, we’re, shouldn’t, weren’t, ” Alix Popham Organizations: CNN, CNN Sport, rugby, Rugby, Alix Popham of Wales offloads, Pat Riordan of Canada, Wales, Getty, World Rugby, Rugby Football Union, RFU, Welsh Rugby Union, WRU, Springer, University of East, National Football League Players, Wrestling Entertainment, WWE, Washington Post, Boston University CTE Center, British Medical, Exercise, NFL, NFL.com, University of East Anglia, RBS, Nations, University of Glasgow, Boston University, University of Sydney, Scottish, ’, “ Rugby, England Rugby, Boston University’s CTE, CTE Locations: France, Wales, England, Canada, Nantes, Europe, University of East Anglia, American, Woodward, Boston

☆ Over 150 ex-soccer, rugby players join concussion lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

London sports law firm Rylands Garth said it would issue proceedings in court on Tuesday on behalf of 100 rugby league players, 40 rugby union players and 15 football players, taking the total number of claimants to 380. The players allege that the sports' governing bodies failed to protect them from concussion and non-concussion injuries that caused various disorders including early onset dementia, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and motor neurone disease. "Acting on the latest science, evidence and independent expert guidance, we constantly strive to safeguard and support all our players – future, current, and former...," World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) said in a joint statement. Rylands Garth represents over 250 rugby union players with brain damage, including England World Cup winner Steve Thompson and former Wales captain Ryan Jones, in a claim against World Rugby and the governing bodies of England and Wales. The firm also represents 100 rugby league players as part of a separate but similar potential claim against England's RFL.

☆ Welsh players given standard contracts after strike threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 18 (Reuters) - Players from Welsh rugby's four professional clubs have been presented with standard contracts that will make existing and new offers legally binding, the country's Professional Rugby Board (PRB) and its rugby body (WRU) said on Saturday. Welsh players threatened to go on strike last month over contract issues with the PRB which put their Six Nations game against England at risk before an agreement was reached to allow the fixture to go ahead. The strike threat came after a freeze on new contracts imposed by the PRB. There are around 70 players at regional clubs who are out of contract at the end of the 2022-23 season. The WRU said its Rugby Management Board (RMB) and PRB members completed a "significant amount of work" on the contract and rights licence, receiving formal acceptance from the Welsh Rugby Players Association (WRPA) and players' agents on Friday.

☆ Another 55 amateur players join concussion lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Lori Ewing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MANCHESTER, England, March 14 (Reuters) - Another 55 amateur rugby players who are suffering from neurological impairments joined the growing list of claimants in a class-action concussion lawsuit on Monday, claiming that the sport's governing bodies failed to take reasonable action to protect them. "The players we represent love the game," Rylands Garth said in a statement. "(CTE) is a cruel and progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in many players of contact sports leading to repetitive brain trauma," they said. World Rugby pointed to studies in France and South Africa that showed positive advancements in terms of player safety and overall game experience. In 2019, the NHL paid $18.49 million to settle a concussion lawsuit brought by more than 100 players.

☆ Welsh Rugby Union chief Phillips resigns, Walker steps in as acting CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 29 (Reuters) - Steve Phillips has resigned from his position as CEO of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), the governing body said on Sunday after he came under pressure for its handling of allegations of misogyny, sexism and racism within the WRU. In a BBC Wales documentary, several former female WRU employees made allegations about comments and behaviour that they said were sexist and discriminatory. WRU chairman Ieuan Evans had also said he would set up an external task force to examine accusations. The WRU said no allegations were made against Phillips in the documentary and that he was "not accused of any wrong doing". Nigel Walker, who was appointed its Performance Director in July 2021, will take over as the WRU's acting CEO with immediate effect.

☆ Welsh Rugby Union chief promises review after sexism allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 24 (Reuters) - The chief executive of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) said the governing body will review their processes and procedures in order to ensure the welfare of employees after allegations of sexism were made in a BBC documentary. In the BBC Wales documentary, aired on Monday, several former female WRU employees, including Charlotte Wathan, who resigned as the WRU's general manager of women's rugby in February 2022, made allegations about comments and behaviour that they said were sexist and discriminatory. The governing body said on Monday it had not participated in the BBC programme because of confidentiality clauses agreed when it settled its case with Wathan. The WRU said most of the complaints had been dealt with "amicably" beforehand, although in a statement it said it would reopen a case after the BBC programme highlighted new evidence. "We strive to maintain the very highest standards at all times and present a governing body which makes the whole of Wales proud," he added.

☆ RFU to lower tackle height to waist for community game
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 19 (Reuters) - Tackling above the waist will be banned in community rugby matches from next season to "reduce head impact exposure and concussion risk", the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said on Thursday. The RFU added that ball carriers would be encouraged to "follow the principle of evasion" and avoid "late dipping". "Lowering the height of the tackle and encouraging the tackler to bend more at the waist will minimise the risk of this occurring while maintaining the tackle as an integral part of the game." "Players' welfare must always be at the centre of decisions we make about how we play the game of rugby," RFU president Nigel Gillingham said. More than 55 amateur rugby union players sent a letter of claim to World Rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and the RFU on Thursday to begin the pre-action phase of their lawsuit over possible brain injuries.

☆ Amateur players send letter of claim in potential legal action over brain injuries
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 19 (Reuters) - More than 55 amateur rugby union players sent a letter of claim to World Rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and England's Rugby Football Union (RFU) on Thursday to begin the pre-action phase of their lawsuit over possible brain injuries. The group includes several retired female internationals, elite male players who played before 1995, elite youth players and the family of a deceased rugby player. Richard Boardman of Rylands Garth, which represents more than 275 ex-professional rugby union, rugby league and football players with brain injuries, in July last year brought a similar claim against those rugby bodies and the Rugby Football League. Ahead of this year's Rugby World Cup in France, World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont pointed to the advancement of player and women's welfare in rugby in 2023, a year in which the sport will celebrate its 200th anniversary. "There will also be developments related to the other key pillars of our welfare plan, including our commitment to education and support for former players," he added.

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