Gary Ablett Sr speaks for first time publicly on significant brain damage from AFL career

Gary Ablett Sr has broken his silence on the hell he has experienced from suffering head trauma during his career.

Gary Ablett Sr has opened up on his brain damage diagnosis.

AFL legend Gary Ablett Sr has revealed a diagnosis of “significant structural and functional brain damage” from his storied 248-game career.

Ablett, 61, spoke for the first time publicly of “headaches and skull pressure” in 2010, a condition that eventually led to migraines, insomnia, blurred vision, significant memory loss, anxiety, fatigue and severe depression.

Having read of the increasing number of cases afflicting former AFL players, Ablett underwent a MEG scan in November last year at the Swinburne Neuroimaging Facility, the same used by US military at an accuracy rate estimated at over 90 per cent.

“I began getting headaches and pressure in the top of my skull around 2010, initially a few days a week. It then led to depression, anxiety and extreme fatigue. Under the advice of doctors I then had numerous scans to try and find the cause of headaches and skull pressure. Those type of scans couldn’t pick up CTE so in a way it’s relieving to at least have identified the problem,” said Ablett.

“From 2015 onwards, and almost every day, there were signs that things had changed, then about 12 months ago I started getting symptoms that alarmed me to the point where I contacted Peter Jess (Ablett’s former manager), whom I’m aware has been a concussion advocate for a number of past players.

Gary Ablett Snr has revealed a diagnosis of brain damage. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Ablett holds his head after a fierce clash with Gary Ayres in the 1989 Grand Final. Picture: Craig Borrow

“I told him of my concerns and Peter helped organise an MEG scan that American Military use. It showed I have significant structural and functional brain damage.

“I’ve since been seeing a Psychiatrist named Dr John Perica once a month and receiving some new medical treatment that’s been helping reduce the headaches and improving my mood.”

Ablett, who kicked 1025 goals with Geelong between 1984-1996, had been involved with helping provide meals for the needy on Geelong’s surf coast, but in recent months has been unable to work.

He then approached the AFL Players Association for financial assistance but his requests have been met with silence: “After providing them with all the information four months ago they just started avoiding me and not getting back to me which I find extremely disappointing and disrespectful.

“I feel I made a significant contribution to the game over 16 years of VFL and AFL football so it seems I’m not the only one with memory problems. And while I certainly don’t want to bring the game into disrepute or damage the image of the game, I’m really wanting to reveal these issues more for awareness and other players who may be experiencing the same problems.

“I acknowledge the AFL have done a tremendous job in cleaning up the game and minimising head contact and knocks as much as possible however back when I played head knocks and injuries were far more common.

“Obviously I was a very physical player and while I only got totally knocked out 8-10 times, I experienced being semi-concussed, such as ears ringing and out of it for a few minutes many dozens of times, but because you weren’t knocked completely out you wouldn’t even bother mentioning it.”

Gary Ablett says he was knocked out 8-10 times.

Ablett in 1995. Picture: Getty Images

Peter Jess, the concussion crusader who has led the charge in recent years, points to the AFL’s lack of help to Ablett as reason why the issue should be taken out of their hands.

“Clearly we need to separate the AFL’s oversight of health and welfare to an independent body of brain trauma experts to address what is a national sporting crisis,” said Jess.

“It requires collaboration of governments at all levels to fund a program. The two biggest biomedical centres in the NIH and CDC have publicly confirmed that repetitive collisions lead to CTE.

“If properly addressed some of these collisions are preventable but the AFL has sadly failed, meaning the decision-making process of the AFL needs to be made more accountable at every level.

“Gary Ablett’s scan showed structural and functional damage, and that should be paid for by the AFL I contacted them and received a letter asking why should they fund the scan?

“The AFL is good at putting the game on but horrible at looking after the welfare of their past and current players, no better demonstrated than wasting $25 million on a retrospective study that everybody knew what the outcome would be, which was if you play football you are a chance to suffer brain damage.

“What we need to do is spend $25 million on finding ways to prevent concussion, such as the University of Cincinnati has done via a concussion prevention program where they have reduced concussion by 80 per cent in collision sports played on their campus.”

The AFLPA was unavailable for comment when contacted yesterday, but has previously refused to discuss specific cases.

Originally published as Gary Ablett Sr speaks for first time publicly on significant brain damage from AFL career