The 'creepy' collusion between ACC and NZR

And other observations from the sporting weekend.

Image/ Tina Tiller (The Spinoff)

A couple of weeks ago a curious email from Government Services dropped into my inbox that I paid scant regard to at the time. I saw it was about the story I had published in the Spinoff and The Bounce about Tu Wyllie’s fight to have his probable CTE diagnosis recognised by the ACC.

I gave it no further thought because I already had the information I needed and had already published, so I assumed it was one of those situations where the channels of bureaucratic communication get clogged up and regurgitated. 

Never assume.

It was actually the NZ Herald’s David Fisher putting in an official information request to see the lines of communication between ACC and New Zealand Rugby following media requests made by myself and Sunday’s Mark Crysell, who put together a story about Justin Jennings, the first New Zealander to be diagnosed post-mortem with chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Over the course of today I’ve wrestled a bit with what to do with this for a few reasons:

• I prefer to write about the news, not be in it;

• I don’t want to overplay my role, which is to tell the stories of others like Tutekawa (pictured above) and Margaret Wyllie, and Carl Hayman - they are “their” stories not “my” stories;

• But mostly because I’m genuinely struggling to order my thoughts around this.

As it pertains to the Wyllies’ story, this is the relevant findings in the Herald (the full story which can be read here[$]):

Sports journalist Dylan Cleaver - a former Herald sports editor and investigative journalist who has written on CTE for years - made contact with ACC in an email marked “in confidence”.

In his email, he asked a range of CTE-related questions seeking answers to be included in a piece to run in The Spinoff about ACC accepting a claim of probable CTE from one-game All Black and former New Zealand First MP Tutekawa Wyllie.

It was a significant news feature as it revealed the first successful claim from an All Black known to have been accepted by ACC and only one of fewer than four claims it has accepted.

ACC’s “sport and traumatic brain injury” staff member alerted NZR’s head of communication, asked for more information and organised a time to speak on the phone about questions posed by Cleaver.

The ACC staffer sent NZR the questions from Cleaver… Two days later, NZR thanked ACC for the conversation - no information was included in the OIA relating to that - and asked to be kept informed around its response to Cleaver. It appeared from the email communication that ACC and NZR spoke at least once more before the answers were sent.

ACC provided to NZR a chunk of its response to Cleaver - minus anything related to Wyllie’s personal situation - but assured the sporting body “our full response does not suggest that ACC accepts a causal link between concussion and CTE”.

As I mentioned before, my thoughts on this are yet to be fully formed but it feels wrong on many levels.

For a start, there is the issue of “in confidence” clearly being ignored in sending my questions to NZR. That’s a bit creepy, but more than that, it’s the whole notion of NZR being involved at all - it’s a massive overreach.

This was a story that concerned the medical hoops the Wyllies had to jump through to get Tu’s condition recognised. The story makes no mention of New Zealand Rugby, the organisation. The ACC involved them in a story they had no business being in unless they feel it is their role to intimately chronical the lives of anybody who once played first-class rugby.

If the breach of “in confidence” was a bit weird, the ACC feeling an obligation to involve NZR around its messaging in a story involving a former rugby player is something darker. It seems utterly implausible they can place this under the umbrella of their injury prevention partnership, which both organisations have tried to do to justify their actions.

The framing of at at least one message is instructive as to NZR’s attitude towards anybody that highlights the potential dangers around the long-term effects of head injuries, describing Chris Nowinski, a former professional wrestler and founder of the Concussion Legacy Group not as a safe sport campaigner or advocate for those suffering neurodegenerative diseases, but as a “contact sport critic”.

There is an element of the NZR doing what you’d expect the NZR to do in this position - to fight and claw for their sport and to portray it in a positive light. It’s the ACC’s position that is more troubling. The government agency is essentially colluding with a national sports organisation to push a non-causative message that already looks silly now and will age even more poorly over the next generation or two.

There are others in the position the Wyllies were in. Some are angry at the ACC. Some might one day choose to tell their stories - maybe to me, maybe to Crysell, maybe to Fisher or others.

I’m sure the agency will now understand why, in future, they might be bypassed for comment.

***

It was tremendously sad to read about the passing of Bruce Robertson, remembered with fondness as the Prince of Centres.

 There were many fine pieces written about the Counties and All Blacks legend, but my favourite anecdote came from Phil Gifford’s tribute ($):

Final proof for me of where Robertson stands in the pantheon of New Zealand rugby greats came when for a magic hour in 1974 I sat with two immortals, George Nepia and Bert Cooke, who were in Auckland for the 50th anniversary reunion of the 1924 Invincibles.

At one point Cooke left the table, and I asked Nepia if he’d ever seen a midfielder to compare to Cooke, a man so elusive English critics at the time compared him to Houdini the great magician.

“Just one,” said Nepia. “This boy Robertson. He’s amazing.”

It was also interesting that it took Bryan ‘Beegee’ Williams to say the ‘D’ word that nobody else would.

“He had been unwell for a while, and had this dementia for some years … we’re at that stage of life, losing so many of my mates now. You just accept that life is a bit of a lottery.” 

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It was quite a weekend of sport that I haven’t really broached. Here’s a few short reviews and observations of the things that tickled my fancy, some I might dig a little deeper into as the week progresses. The second one is courtesy of Peter, my chief Warriors spotter.

Give it a boot. Photosport/ John Davidson

1. I speak only for myself here, but I was really looking forward to some couch time and a bit of footy at 7.05pm on Saturday night but… the Crusaders-Blues match was boring. Yes, it was brutal and important and full of steely resolve. All those things are true, but when one team, the team that didn’t win 15-3,  kicks away nearly every piece of possession they get it makes for rather plodding fare. According to coach Leon MacDonald in the Herald, it wasn’t under instruction either.

“We were probably kicking a little bit earlier and not on the terms that we wanted to. We have got weapons in the back and we wanted to use them. It was a perfect night… about as good as it gets to try and use the ball,” the frustrated coach said.

2. Writes Peter:

The 24-12 win against the Bulldogs exemplifies this new-generation Warriors outfit.

Teams of the past might have probably baulked at this fixture with its must-win significance and yet come halftime, the Warriors were leading 18-0.

The old ways haven’t totally disappeared, however, as the boys should have gone on with it and racked up more points due to the Bulldogs being an incomplete side.

Shaun Johnson got too cute with a try begging but Ronald Volkman made a try out of nothing and we were safe. It could be that the team hasn’t 100 percent bought into their new identity yet and a bit of imposter syndrome lurks in the sheds.

Addin Fonua-Blake believes it and continues to be a stand-out performer, absolutely critical to the team’s success. Jackson Ford was missed for his relentless pursuit of go-forward, whereas Wayde Egan does not look sharp and his head injury issues are a concern. Freddy Lussick was an able deputy and it was telling that he started. Volkman, whom I have doubted previously, more than did his job. However the centres will continue to be an Achilles heel while Adam Pompey gets exposed by quicker opposites and Rocco Berry remains invisible. Oh for a Matthew Timoko!

One thing I do notice is the lack of intensity and general speed of movement in both attack and line speed - watch the Panthers and marvel - but we’re back in the eight with a bye next and then a chance to knock off a State of Origin-weakened Broncos away from their home patch.

Ed: While I think this Warriors team has something about them that has been missing for a few years, I can’t get too excited by a scrappy win against the Bulldogs. It was nice to see them get a few 50/50s from the officials though!

3. Hayden Wilde made no race of the Yokohama round of the World Triathlon Championship Series. It was appalling conditions in the Japanese metropolis but the Olympic bronze medallist, enjoying the absence of Briton Alex Yee, made it look like a walk in the park.

4. There was an interesting topic raised during the Central Pulse’s excellent 62-56 victory against the Northern Mystics, concerning the bench-bound plight of shooter Joyce Mvula. The Malawi import has not been needed as the Pulse have a playmaking goal attack in Tiana Metuarau and the progress of 19-year-old Amelia Walmsley, a high-volume accurate  shooter (also the daughter of former Black Cap Kerry), has probably been faster than anybody anticipated. Meanwhile, down in the deep south, the Southern Steel desperately needed a shooter after their import, George Fisher, was ruled out for the season.  

5. The dream of a Celtics-Lakers NBA finals is one step closer after Jayson Tatum (51 points) manhandled Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers today. Los Angeles, who have recaptured their championship formula according to The Ringer, travels to Denver in the Western Conference Finals starting Wednesday (NZT) and Boston hosts Miami Heat the following day.

6. Logan Savory has a Substack that gets granular with Southland Sport. Guy Molloy, the coach of their basketball team, the Sharks, had a nice turn of phrase when it came to summing up their loss to the Saints.

“We kind of had them locked down at the half with 35 points and had the firm goal of repeating that in the second half and it all went to shit after that.”

Molloy cannot be accused of beating around the bush.

7. Interesting happenings  at one of Auckland’s biggest football clubs, Western Springs AFC ($).

One of the country’s top women’s football teams faces an exodus of senior players after months of disputes with the club about inequities between the treatment of men’s and women’s teams.

The walkout at Western Springs comes after a spate of concerns from female players who felt they were “completely disrespected” by the “highly misogynistic behaviour” of the club’s predominantly male board.

Not a great look for the club ahead of the Fifa World Cup.

8. With Spark Sport disappearing and no competition for content, is it portentous that in recent weeks we’ve seen no coverage of the world snooker championships from The Crucible or the Giro d’Italia (h/t Lorne). I prefer the one-day classics to the grand tours, but the absence of the snooker really bothered me.