A peak behind the curtain
CTE becomes very real, PLUS: The Week That Was and the Weekend That Will Be
NB. This newsletter contains a reference to suicide.
It was a big week on the reporting front, with the news breaking on Radio New Zealand yesterday that former Blues and New Zealand Maori halfback Billy Guyton died while suffering from Stage 2 CTE.
It appeared under my byline, so I thought in a change of pace I’d offer a tiny glimpse behind the curtain as to how stories like this come about.
When Guyton died suddenly last year, it set off a tsunami of speculation as to why a young man with so much talent and so much life in front of him would take his own life. His premature retirement from rugby due to post-concussion issues in 2018 was an obvious focal point. At his memorial at Trafalgar Park, his mate Shane Christie made pointed comments about the deficit of support people like Billy received post-playing career.
I’ve written a lot of stories about men struggling with neurological issues, many falling under the catch-all term of dementia, starting in 2012 but ramping up in earnest in 2016. Since that time many people have contacted me to let me know that Player X, Y or Z is struggling or has been diagnosed with dementia. I rarely action the information unless the approach comes directly from the family. My view remains that they are their stories to tell, not mine to chase.
Billy Guyton never came across my radar until he died. Since then it’s been instructive to learn how many people knew he was struggling in a bad way. It saddens me to think that so many people cared and worried about him, yet neither the health system nor rugby’s post-playing welfare network could get the right type of care in front of him. Admittedly, some make it impossible to help, but nobody I spoke to thought Billy was beyond saving.
First, however, you have to know what you could be dealing with.
His father’s anger in this respect was palpable.
“I figured out Billy had CTE a few days after he died,” John Guyton said. “My wife and I were watching a documentary on it and I said, ‘F*** me, that’s Billy. That’s what he had.’ If I can work it out based on a documentary, what the hell were all those specialists Billy saw missing? I hope Billy’s death blows a lot of bulls*** out of the water.”
It’s a hell of a quote, but we have jumped ahead here.
A trusted source let me know that Guyton’s family had requested his brain be examined and on March 6 I received a note from another source that he had returned a post-mortem CTE diagnosis. Then about a week ago, his father John reached out. He had decided Billy’s story was too important not to share.
John and I had a long lead-in planned before publishing to make sure all i’s were dotted, t’s were crossed and everybody was as comfortable as they could be with the fact their beloved son, brother, friend was going to hit the headlines again.
But that timeline got squeezed. John had heard that Billy’s diagnosis was being discussed in rugby’s inner circle. He started getting calls from overseas media. This was a new world to him and one he wasn’t comfortable with.
“Let’s go now,” he said yesterday.
So I wrote and, with the considerable help of Radio New Zealand, went.
Those I spoke to want Billy’s life to have meaning beyond the fact he was bloody good at rugby and died far too young.
They can take a small measure of comfort in that it will.
THE WEEK THAT WAS
On a related subject, the walls seem to be closing in on plagiarist Professor Paul McCrory, the former chairman of the Concussion in Sport Group and a man so many sports relied on to frame their concussion protocols and, more widely, their attitudes.
In an email to police, concussion activist Peter Jess wrote: “For almost two decades, the AFL listened to a man who claimed CTE didn’t exist in our sport, which is contrary to the overwhelming evidence.”
McCrory was found to have plagiarised other’s work in numerous articles while editor of British Journal of Sports Medicine. He has previously described the issue of concussion in sport as “overblown” and described the reporting on CTE in the USA as “hoo-ha”.
It was a big week for nascent New Zealand franchises in Australian-based competitions.
The most important things first, thank goodness the new A-League franchise did not call itself the Auckland Black Knights as was speculated. Auckland FC will do just fine, thanks.
This headline gave me pause: “Power couple join American billionaire as Auckland FC investors.” Are Ali Williams and Anna Mowbray a power couple, or a rich couple? Or have we reached a point in human evolution where the two things are indistinguishable?
Meanwhile, down south former transcontinental rugby boss David Moffett is manoeuvring. According to Sports Insider ($):
A rival contender for a mooted South Island franchise in Australia’s National Rugby League has emerged, headed by former New Zealand Rugby and NRL chief executive David Moffett.North Canterbury-based Moffett wants the “South Island Kea” to play out of Christchurch’s new Te Kaha Stadium and is targeting a 2028 debut when the NRL is tipped to expand to 18 teams.
The experienced administrator’s bid is a rival to the previously announced Christchurch-based consortium led by former Canterbury Rugby League chair Tony Kidd which has been lobbying NRL officials for admission to the competition.
Moffett has proposed a cooperative model that would allow fans to invest in the team.
The ACC XI kept up our fine record of being smashed by the Dulux Tradies. Short personal summary: conceded one off my first over and that was the high point; batted like a complete omelette; I couldn’t see the ball in time to play scoring shots, yet could see it just in time to not go out - worst possible combination in T20.
Age is a b***ch.
THE WEEKEND THAT WILL BE
A very skinny weekend of sport watching.
Schadenfreude alert! The Crusaders are 0 and 3. That fills the hearts of a lot of people I know with joy. Surely there’s a derby response to be had.
Crusaders v Hurricanes, Christchurch, tonight 7.05pm, SS 1
There seems to be a disproportionate amount of angst about the Warriors false start at home to the Sharks. I’m going to wait a month before hitting the button labelled “panic”.
Melbourne v NZ Warriors, Melbourne, tomorrow 9.35pm, SS 4
Brace yourself Phoenix fans, I’m dipping in again.
Sydney FC v Wellington, Auckland, tomorrow 5.30pm, SS 3
I’ve also been watching The Dynasty: New England Patriots on Apple TV. It’s not perfect, with the story told from a slightly airbrushed and obviously Kraft Family-centric viewpoint, but hell, it’s just great to watch a sports documentary with a compelling narrative arc again after being blitzed by ever-more-tenuous fly-on-the-wall access shows fuelled by the success of Drive to Survive. Speaking of which, I could barely make it out of the first episode of the late DTS.
