For those of you who don’t know who Brett Horsnell is, he was a very good footballer who last played in the NRL in 1998.
And unfortunately, his health is now seriously affected by what he believes to be football-related head injuries, specifically chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) caused by multiple concussions.
Horsnell was always going to be a top-grade footballer. He was a product of one of the best rugby league nurseries in the world in Queensland’s Keebra Park High, he played in the junior Queensland teams at both the under-16 and under-18 level, and he captained the 1988 Australian Schoolboys team that included future internationals Brad Fittler, Tim Brasher and David Fairleigh.
He made his first-grade debut with the Gold Coast Seagulls in 1989, transferred to the South Queensland Crushers in 1995, and ended up at Parramatta in 1997 for a couple of seasons before retiring in 1998 at the age of 28.
In all, he played 154 first-grade games, in whatever position he was needed on the field, and he was a hard man known for his fearless running and tough tackling.
Horsnell’s health issues have been in the media many times since his retirement, and most recently the 51-year-old revealed that he is now being forced to part with his football jerseys and other memorabilia from his playing days in order to raise money, as the costs of fighting his medical condition have left him on the brink of financial ruin.
Horsnell was quoted as saying: “I’m just about done. I’ve spent everything. I’m living in a crappy unit. I’m just struggling. I can’t work… I just struggle to pay rent. I don’t have public housing. I’m paying normal rent. I pay normal bills like everyone else but I’m on a disability, which is not a lot of money.”
He has described his health issues as follows: “I get headaches, I can’t do running writing, I have vertigo so bad that I can’t shower because I would fall over… I’m losing the eyesight in one eye… I have depression big time, and short-term memory loss – every day I forget where I left my keys.”
He claims that his health issues stem from the over 50 concussions he claims to have suffered during his career.
He has been quoted as saying: “I remember getting hit on the wrong side of the head. I collapsed, got up, fell over, got up, collapsed, fell over, woke up in the dressing room with my family above me, woke up in the ambulance, getting a shot because my heart has stopped.
“Back then, you would be out cold on the grass, they would put smelling salts under your nose to wake you and say ‘Get back out there’.”
Horsnell’s story and current medical and financial plight are the elephant in the room in the world of contact sport, and not what anyone involved in the game of rugby league wants to hear.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
No coach, trainer or administrator wants to admit that they could be in any way culpable for a dire health outcome like this.
Yes, I hear you say, everyone knew the risk. It’s a contact sport. Medical knowledge wasn’t as good back in the day. Yadda yadda.
But anyone who has played the game knows that this went on every game and every week, and that players who were concussed were encouraged to get up, shake it off, and get back out there, time and time again.
Most players thought that they were indestructible, and never wanted to show any weakness or let their teammates down, but surely some of those outside the playing group had enough sense to see the damage being done.
Similarly, no player, whether currently playing the game or now retired, wants to look too closely at Brett Horsnell’s story for fear of seeing their own reflection.
Horsnell claims to have had over 50 concussions in his 154-game career, and while that seems an alarmingly high number, it’s more than possible, and equates to just one concussion every third game.
Often, players can receive multiple concussions in the same game. Players past and present will be thinking about their own experience, how many concussions they’ve had and wondering just how many concussions you can get away with without suffering any long-term effects.
I think we now know that just one concussion could be one too many.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Horsnell’s story has been in and out of the media for some years but really he’s just the tip of the iceberg in this regard, as many players similarly affected either haven’t had their conditions properly diagnosed, are in denial, or just not well known enough for it to be newsworthy.
Horsnell was quoted as saying: “I know a lot of blokes my vintage with similar problems… although maybe not as severe. Most are in denial and just dealing with it with drugs and alcohol.”
We don’t know how many Brett Horsnells are out there, but I suspect there’s more than we’d like to admit.
We do know that many former players are either living with or have died from dementia in recent years, and dementia is one of the more severe symptoms of CTE.
While it’s great to see that the NRL has taken some steps to reduce the risk of concussion in recent years, and also to see that concussion sufferers like Boyd Cordner and Jake Friend have been encouraged to retire early rather than risk any further damage, it looks to me like we’ll be hearing Brett Horsnell’s sad story repeated time and time again for as long as the game goes on.
mach4
Roar Rookie
John Allan - hit them in the rib cage and then drop to their legs. The old days, John Raper, Bunny Reilly.
Tony
Roar Guru
Hang in there Tim
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
My doctor told me to play soccer and ended the shortest doctors appointment of my life. I'm fine now and I didn't work in high pressure situations so I only had trouble doing exams but I did pass them. I'm lucky to be alive as I have survived lymphoma (blood cancer) and three of my friends have recently died from cancer.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
Yes, any game with no head high tackling and no shoulders hitting soft body tissue could be called sociable.
Paul
Roar Guru
Those must have been serious knocks you took. Touch wood you're okay now though?
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
In 1972 I was knocked out in a trial game through my own stupidity. I got up and fell over. I played on until half time in a dream state. I was dreaming that I was playing but I was packing down in scrums, Two faces, Mick and Steve, appeared in my face saying the same thing – “You’d better go off”. I played all year getting knocked out. We played the Colts who won the minor premiership. In the semi final (1v3) our front rower and kicker was injured so I got to play prop and kick goals. My first attempt at goal kicked the ball a few metres along the ground letting everyone know I was no good. I woke up later at half time with a ring of heads looking down at me. I woke up again during extra time and I was sitting next to the St.George Girls High School vice captain. I had been in a trance all the 2nd half and awoke as one of their players took an intercept to win the game in extra time. My team, Allawah, did well without their goal kickers and front rowers. I retired at the end of the year. Later when doing my HSC I found my brain over heated during exams and I couldn’t solve problems that I had done before. I’m raving again.
Tony
Roar Guru
I think league was probably a lot more sociable prior to the fulltime professional era Tim
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
Many play rugby for fitness and fellowship. I watched league, St.George games, with a friend who played rugby. He enjoyed the game and the drinking with team mates after the games. Union is sociable and League is serious.
Tony
Roar Guru
Good idea right there
Dumbo
Roar Rookie
“I’m happy for people to make up their own minds, but repeated brain trauma surely results in brain damage.”. There is a school of thought that says the younger a player is when he receives concussions, the greater will be the impact in later life. ie if kids are suffering brain trauma / concussions really young, their eventual (post retirement) symptoms may be determined before they ever get to play Jersey Flegg let alone first grade NRL. If that is so, then it could vastly increase the number of individuals who could claim to have been damaged by playing league. As others have suggested, the NRL needs to grasp the nettle and put in place a financial compensation scheme (funding details to be determined – see the comment above on a percentage of betting wagers, for one option), and to do it NOW, before a court decision takes it out of their control.
Monorchid
Roar Rookie
Not very funny in the context of this article. You may not have concussion King, but I'd suggest a good dose of abdication.
Tony
Roar Guru
Just stands to reason Mono.
Monorchid
Roar Rookie
Tony, I went to my GP a few days after a head whack in a RU game in the 1970s. He diagnosed delayed concussion. I said something like it wasn't a very hard knock. The doctor said that any blow to the head was serious. I've never forgotten this. So I support your view about the effects of repeated brain trauma.
Monorchid
Roar Rookie
AMD, I've just looked at your links. Gee, Seau committing suicide so young was tragic. I didn't read all of your first year by year link, but it does seem to apply to the NRL. I didn't realise that CTE wasn't known about in NFL players until 19 years ago. Well, we do now. I've been following Geoff Parkes' excellent series for RU (with some not quite complimentary references to the NRL position), and it's good to see Tony taking up the cudgels for RL. I suppose the RLPA is doing something, but it's not apparent. In fact, I've often wondered if the players think they get much out of their Association. Thanks for both your links AMD.
Tony
Roar Guru
John, does the Reserve Bank have any say in this?
Tony
Roar Guru
Correct Jenny. You'd have to question the wisdom of Te Maire Martin's decision to return to the game. Let's hope that luck is on his side. Such a big risk for a relatively small reward.
JennyfromPenny
Guest
Good article, Tony. Lot of concussions >50/154. One every 3 games if he remembers accurately (?) Good luck to Te Maire Martin, new Bronco. The power brokers have care little. Dangling a carrot (albeit a very small carrot) in front of the medically retired, just because his bleeding on the brain has stopped, and he looks ok from the outside. He does need to avoid a 1/3 game concussion. He needs to avoid just one.
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
A couple of years ago I was touchie for a z-grade game at Black Hole Number 5. A player copped a head knock which bled. He showed some signs of concussion (or so I thought) and I told the ref to give him a blue card; concussion who cannot play the rest of the day, in any grade, and needed to go through the concussion protocols before he could play again. The player argued. Two trainers argued. They said blood wasn't a concussion. I said he stumbled when he stood up, his day is done. And they still argued. "But sir it's blood. Look he's fine. It's not concussion." Yeah they might have been right, but what if they weren't, and he played on? It's just a bloody game.
Blue
Guest
I have mentioned Robert Stone before .. played with him in juniors .. poor guy died at 49 with brain tumour. I always thought that perhaps to many head knocks contributed to this. I personally had been knocked out on a number of times in one season just catching a stray boot or knee in the tackle .. always tried to tackle low .when one of my teammates had a go at me at training after these head knocks with the nickname " canvasback' Many would know his name as he went on to have a high profile rugby career. Fortunately these boofhead attitudes have changed and a players head must be protected at all times if we are to enjoy the game in future.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
“It’s a tough man's game”.