Powerful plea of Danny Frawley’s widow after the AFL concussion horror that’s so close to home
The widow of St Kilda great Danny Frawley has revealed her family’s trauma since her future son-in-law and Melbourne defender Angus Brayshaw was knocked out during a sickening clash at the MCG.
Anita Frawley, the widow of St Kilda great Danny Frawley, has revealed her family’s trauma since her future son-in-law and Melbourne defender Angus Brayshaw was knocked out during a sickening clash at the MCG that has reignited the debate over concussion in sport – calling for the AFL to ensure protecting athletes’ brains was “sacrosanct”.
It’s four years ago this week that her husband Danny Frawley took his own life.
Frawley was diagnosed with CTE – a dementia caused by repeated brain injury – at post mortem. A Melbourne coroner said CTE may have played a role in his five-year battle with depression prior to his death.
So when Anita’s daughter Danielle’s fiance and Melbourne player Angus Brayshaw was cleaned up by Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard in a collision that left Brayshaw unconscious in the middle of the MCG for more than two minutes, the Frawley family naturally felt the trauma of it all deeply.
The events moved Mrs Frawley to release an emotional statement to The Australian calling for the discussion to centre on protecting “athletes’ brains” to be “sacrosanct”.
“The events of the past few days have been extremely traumatising for my family,” she said.
“We request that we be given privacy to deal with our ongoing trauma, especially during the week of the anniversary of Danny’s death. Discussions about CTE and concussion need to be ongoing and the protection of athletes’ brains has to be sacrosanct. There can be no diversion from this as we, as a family, do not want to see anyone else go through the trauma and pain that has and continues to effect us.”
Maynard was cleared of rough conduct for his hit on Brayshaw in a marathon tribunal hearing on Tuesday night. But it has alarmed corners of the football world, including Brayshaw’s teammates and coach Simon Goodwin.
On Wednesday, the AFL said it would not appeal the decision by the tribunal to exonerate Maynard of a rough conduct charge.
Brayshaw took an extended break from the game in 2017 after four concussions in the space of 12-months, and has worn soft-shell headgear ever since.
Critics, including like former Demons star Shaun Smith and leading neuroscientist Dr Alan Pearce, say the decision not to penalise Maynard shows the AFL has no regard for player safety.
Greens senator Janet Rice, who chaired the inquiry into concussion in sport, told The Australian she was “sickened” by the Brayshaw knockout in light of what the inquiry had uncovered. “The Senate’s inquiry into concussion heard from medical experts, former players and their families who made it abundantly clear that professional sport codes still have a long way to go to take concussions and head injuries seriously,” Senator Rice said.
“I respect the tribunal’s decision in this matter as it is an independent body, but there is no doubt about the seriousness of the concussion that Bradshaw sustained and the potential lifetime consequences of concussions like this. Sustaining a concussion like this is not safe, and the AFL needs to reflect on this.”
Senator Rice appealed for the government to act swiftly on the landmark Senate report’s recommendations that call for sweeping legal reform to allow professional athletes to sue for brain injuries and is proposing the main Australian codes hand over concussion management to the government.
Mrs Frawley has been a fierce advocate for player safety, and earlier this year she told the Senate inquiry that when it came to protecting players from head trauma and CTE the AFL “was not doing enough and I’ve stated that before; I don’t know why”.
“We must act now to reduce the instances of this happening to other families in the future,” Mrs Frawley said in April. “For me, this is not about blame or justice-seeking; it is simpler than that. It’s just about care – caring for the human beings who have given their lives to the sport they loved.”
At the Senate hearings, Mrs Frawley noted the recent engagements of two of her daughters and that this could not be shared with her husband. “During the happiest moments of their lives so far, the incredible sadness that their dad is not here to celebrate with them and to walk them down the aisle is always present,” she said.
“Our lives will forever be touched by sadness, even in our happiest times.”
There have been four former AFL footballers – Danny Frawley, Shane Tuck, “Polly” Farmer and Murray Weideman – diagnosed with CTE. Tuck’s suicide, at the age of 38, is the subject of an inquest in the Victorian Coroner’s Court, which is focusing on the adequacy of the AFL’s concussion protocols. Appearing before the Senate inquiry, AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said the AFL had “made more than 30 significant changes to our rules at our match review and tribunal processes over the past two decades” to make the game safer.
“While some risk of head impacts is an inherent feature of contact sports, the AFL is committed to mitigating that risk across the game,” Mr Dillon said.
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