‘Totally ridiculous’: Phil Gould criticises NRL brain disease hysteria
NRL great Phil ‘Gus’ Gould has slammed those who are spreading “misinformation” about the serious brain condition that could be affecting players.
Australian researchers discovered evidence of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in the brains of two former rugby league players in June.
CTE is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain, often found in people who have experienced repeated trauma to the head.
But Rugby League great Phil ‘Gus’ Gould says there’s a lot of “totally ridiculous” hysteria surrounding the issue.
“We all understand the seriousness of it, but there is also such a lot of misinformation out there.
“There is a lot of hysteria about this and sometimes I wonder the motivation for what they want. Is it that they don’t want the game ever played anymore? Is rugby league being blamed simply for all the concussion or head injuries that we have?”
He says we need to do more research and become better educated on the matter before we jump to conclusions.
“All these things are still under investigation.
“Even if you have a series of concussions it does not mean that you’ll have CTE. They can’t tell you how many concussions you need to have to form this problem in your brain.”
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