Deceased AFLW player Heather Anderson has become the world’s first female athlete to be diagnosed with CTE, a degenerative brain disease caused by repeat concussions.
Anderson died by suicide at the age of 28 in November, and her brain was donated to researchers by her family in the aftermath.
Following an autopsy, researchers said Anderson met the criteria for low-stage CTE after discovering three lesions on her brain, something abnormal for someone her age.
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“Seeing that level of brain disease from someone in their 20s is very surprising and somewhat shocking,” Dr Michael Buckland of the Australian Sports Brain Bank told 9News Adelaide.
“It certainly should be a wake-up call that there is a disease that’s now starting to creep into the domain of women’s contact sports.”
Anderson was a member of the Adelaide Crows’ inaugural AFLW premiership-winning side in 2017 and played eight games before retiring due to a serious shoulder dislocation.
She suffered one official concussion during her AFLW career, but her family believes she suffered multiple head knocks that went undiagnosed while growing up playing both Australian rules football and rugby.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative brain disease that can only be determined by an autopsy. It was found to exist in the brains of VFL and AFL players Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer, Shane Tuck and Danny Frawley.
If you or anyone you know needs immediate support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or via lifeline.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
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