Shane Christie, former Highlanders and Māori All Blacks flanker, has died at the age of 40, leaving a lasting legacy as an advocate for player safety. Authorities were called to his Nelson home early Wednesday, where he was found dead. Friends have said they suspect he took his own life.
Christie had long spoken out about the risks of concussion and its potential link to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease associated with repeated head trauma. He reported persistent headaches, memory lapses, and cognitive difficulties—symptoms often linked to CTE.
“It feels like a bruise in your head… when you’re thinking it hurts, when you’re trying to exercise the pressure hurts, and you’re not as fast and can’t think as quick,” Christie said in an interview.
Committed to helping future players, he pledged to donate his brain to research, hoping to advance understanding of CTE and make rugby safer. “Without brain donations we’re not going to be able to identify how long it takes to get this disease. It’s important to help the research in New Zealand,” he explained.
Christie was a close friend and teammate of Billy Guyton, who died by suicide in 2023 and became the first New Zealand rugby player diagnosed with CTE. Together, they founded the Billy Guyton Foundation to raise awareness of concussion and brain injury in rugby. “Bill motivated me to have the courage to speak my mind about what I see,” Christie said at a Foundation event last year.
Respected on and off the field, Christie’s leadership and advocacy highlighted the urgent need to address the long-term risks of head injuries in contact sports.
Source: AP Rugby
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