‘Sort this mess out’: Knights great wants brain study halted

Former Knights captain Tony Butterfield has called for rugby league boss Peter V’landys to intervene in the league’s controversial NRL concussion study and ‘sort this mess out’.

Tony Butterfield playing against the Sydney Roosters for Newcastle in 2000.

Newcastle Knights great and former NRL player union boss Tony Butterfield has called for rugby league boss Peter V’landys to intervene in the league’s controversial concussion study and “sort this mess out”.

Butterfield, a 1997 premiership winner who retired in 2000 as club captain, called on the NRL to ­develop a “cogent and compassionate” compensation scheme before a class action hits the game.

A no-fault compensation scheme for former players battling brain injuries is being considered by the AFL and has already been established in the US National Football League, after it was hit with a billion-dollar lawsuit.

Butterfield says the “greatest thing” Mr V’landys could do for the game is head off a class action to spare players and the game the trauma of a drawn out and divisive legal case.

“While it required protracted legal action in the US, in the NFL, V’landys can get on the front foot and encourage dialogue toward a commonsense collaborative solution that can help players and their families, now and in the ­future” Butterfield said.

“He has the influence to get it done and to avoid the mess that could emerge over the next few years. You’ve got a lot of ex-players who were knocked around, while others will stoically affirm they ‘knew what they were getting themselves into’.

“Be that as it may, the writing is on the wall. Looking away or kicking the can down the road to ­appease corporate advisers or limit downstream liability will not reflect well on administrators down the track nor assuage the families of professional rugby league players who will be required to otherwise, battle and sacrifice alone.”

Knights great Robbie O'Davis has been diagnosed with probable-CTE after all the head knocks from playing football. Picture: John Feder/The Australian.

The NFL fund is paying out compensation for former players diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, ALS and Parkinson’s disease, because brain injury increases the risk of all dementias, not just CTE which can be diagnosed only at post mortem.

At least three of Butterfield’s former Knights teammates have been caught up in the controversial NRL study where researchers allegedly did not tell players and families of brain injuries and ­dementia diagnosis.

Former teammate Robbie O’Davis has been diagnosed with “probable CTE”, and another teammate Marc Glanville believes he has dementia. NRL immortal Andrew Johns has previously ­revealed he believes his epilepsy is connected to repeated head knocks he received during his career.

Butterfield says the league’s priority, given the huge corporate and public funds at its disposal, should be that “players come out of the game healthy”,

“Whatever that looks like, but that includes dissemination of independent research, rule changes and technique amendments conducive to prevention of concussive injuries to players,” he said. “A no-fault compensation scheme and support framework would seem attainable objectives in the short term.”

Sydney University reiterated that NRL study lead and associate professor Andrew Gardner joined the university on January 1, and questions relating to his research activity should be referred to the University of Newcastle, which said Sydney University must ­answer questions about the study.

“Associate Professor Andrew Gardner is now employed by the University of Sydney and remains the chief investigator of the study,” said University of Newcastle Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research, Brian Kelly.

Both universities and the NRL refused to answer direct questions about the nature of the study saying “privacy” prevented them giving detailed responses from how many players were told they had brain damage to how many footballers requested MRI scans.

Butterfield, who fought hard for player welfare and rights in his time as players’ union boss, would like the Rugby League Players ­Association to be heavily involved in the research process from hereon so the players interests were carefully monitored.