Dozens of Australian Rules players diagnosed with CTE expose scale of AFL's brain injury crisis

Global Health Tue, 30 Jun 2026 06:34:41 GMT High confidence — 76/100

Thirty-three Australian Rules players, including 19 professional and semi-professional footballers, have been diagnosed with the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), exposing the scale of the AFL's brain trauma crisis.
Four Corners can reveal the alarming findings, compiled by the Australian Sports Brain Bank, include high-profile players who died in their 20s, 30s and 40s.
Until now, there had only been five known cases of CTE diagnosed in professional AFL players.

Thirty-three Australian Rules players, including 19 professional and semi-professional footballers, have been diagnosed with the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), exposing the scale of the AFL's brain trauma crisis.
Four Corners can reveal the alarming findings, compiled by the Australian Sports Brain Bank, include high-profile players who died in their 20s, 30s and 40s.
Until now, there had only been five known cases of CTE diagnosed in professional AFL players.

Sources: ABC Australia