A NEW ZEALAND rugby player who suffered multiple concussions has died aged 39, police in the country said Wednesday.
Shane Christie, a former Maori All Blacks player, had campaigned for greater awareness in rugby of the impact of repeated blows to the head. The cause of his death is not yet certain.
After retiring from the game in 2017 Christie reportedly suffered from headaches, memory lapses, speech problems, depression and mood swings consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Advertisement
Christie also played for Otago Highlanders, Canterbury Crusaders and the All Blacks sevens team.
“The death will be referred to the coroner and we have no further information or comment we can provide,” said police.
New Zealand Rugby said Christie was deeply passionate about the sport and would be “remembered always”.
Christie reportedly wanted to donate his brain to the New Zealand sports human brain bank for its studies into CTE, a degenerative disease caused by repetitive head trauma that cannot be detected in living people.
Hundreds of American football (NFL) players have been affected by the condition, which is linked to an array of behavioural symptoms including depression.
A 2023 study by the Boston University CTE Centre said that of 376 brains of former NFL players, 345 of them were found to have CTE.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
3 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
NZ rugby player who called for more study on concussion dies aged 39
A NEW ZEALAND rugby player who suffered multiple concussions has died aged 39, police in the country said Wednesday.
Shane Christie, a former Maori All Blacks player, had campaigned for greater awareness in rugby of the impact of repeated blows to the head. The cause of his death is not yet certain.
After retiring from the game in 2017 Christie reportedly suffered from headaches, memory lapses, speech problems, depression and mood swings consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Christie also played for Otago Highlanders, Canterbury Crusaders and the All Blacks sevens team.
“The death will be referred to the coroner and we have no further information or comment we can provide,” said police.
New Zealand Rugby said Christie was deeply passionate about the sport and would be “remembered always”.
Christie reportedly wanted to donate his brain to the New Zealand sports human brain bank for its studies into CTE, a degenerative disease caused by repetitive head trauma that cannot be detected in living people.
Hundreds of American football (NFL) players have been affected by the condition, which is linked to an array of behavioural symptoms including depression.
A 2023 study by the Boston University CTE Centre said that of 376 brains of former NFL players, 345 of them were found to have CTE.
– © AFP 2025
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
RIP Rugby Shane Christie