NRL great Mark ‘Spudd’ Carroll opens up about CTE diagnosis (Interview)

#RugbyLeague hard man Mark ‘Spudd’ Carroll opens up for the first time on his #CTE diagnosis, revealing before he was diagnosed he ‘dreamt’ of driving his car into a tree or an oncoming semi-trailer.
Carroll enjoyed a 200-plus game career defined by brutal clashes with Knights enforcer Paul “The Chief” Harragon, a premiership victory with Manly, playing Origin and for the Kangaroos - but all that #footy glory has come at a cost.
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[@mgreen351]

Thank you for your bravery. We must speak out loud. God bless.

[@clevelandwilliams5922]

CTE diagnosis or any brain related injuries or condition can affect the whole body. I understand that they played the game, put their bodies on the line for sport they loved & most of all did it with passion are now realising that having a sense of fear would cause them to be more aware. The biggest problem is in their youth the culture of toughness & dealing with adversity was held supreme. It was drummed in so much that to think that having repetitive head knocks would cause health issues. No one is to blame especially singling one individual or many people. What we need to do is organise a fund to help these Rugby League legends like Mark Carroll and others that develop onset dementia or epilepsy. These men entertained us during the 80’s & 90’s. Some earlier than that. Their service to the game should be honoured and remembered. I do agree in personal responsibility & accountability in choices we make but now we know the full story. An educational campaign is required to make kids remember to be aware of dangers to oneself if you play the game wrongly.

[@alpage9306]

I remember playing football and hitting in the running back so hard I got a Ringing headache I got up and went back to the huddle and finished the game with that headache. That same headache lasted for two weeks.

[@gattingbowledwarne]

@@alpage9306I used to teach a long of kids play rugby league. I used to go and watch them play on the weekends. I remember one kid, a big 16 yo who played front row. He got absolutely flattened by a high tackle. He was away with the pixies, the trainer came out, a wet sponge on the neck, they helped him up and he played the rest of the game. Negligente, but that’s the way things were.

[@alpage9306]

@@gattingbowledwarne you are a hundred percent right, I think all of us were overlooking things, sometimes you wouldn't be considered a hard hitter if you didn't get a headache, We just thought we had a ringer so we took like a badge of honour but in all actuality we were piling up concussions

[@JRTIGER07]

Be Strong Mark it takes a real Man to says he Scared 🙏 From one ex league Player to Another its not a sign of Weakness to ask for Help but a Sign of Wisdom 🙏 God bless you Mark a brother from across the Ditch 🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🕊🕊🕊🙏🙏🙏

[@ezza1236]

Al these years these footy players thought the way to life was being tough, how wrong they were thro

[@ronanrogers4127]

I spent an evening with Mark when I was a business guest in Russell Crowe’s private suite at ANZ Stadium. Sat next to him through the entire Rabbitohs game. He’s the nicest fella. It’s hard to watch Mark in this interview because his fear is obvious, and completely understandable, and fear is not a word I’d associate with him. Good on you for speaking up, and for offering support to others.

[@declannash3435]

Met Spudd in London when he signed for the Broncos, they used to train at our Uni, he stopped and had a chat to us, nice bloke, best of health to him.

[@martingoodef811]

Have been a strong advocate for changing this great game and enforcing compulsory head gear for all and not the useless paper thin types that are available in sports stores. Even though rules have changed to limit injuries such as contact with the head etc, the NRL have been slow to react to this problem and they at this time are not offering enough support to families affected by partners, husbands, fathers suffering from depression, violence and suicide. They feel like they have been abandoned. Thank you Mark for speaking up about this. I wish you all the best mate

[@untitle161]

These sports that causes brain damage Rugby, American Football, Boxing, MMA. Football(Soccer) & Ice Hockey can too

[@DarwinNorth]

Add AFL to that list

[@untitle161]

@@DarwinNorth, oh sure Aussie rules football. That happened to a 28 year old Aussie rules footballer. She committed suicide. There’s a KZbin video about her.

[@DarwinNorth]

@untitle161 I never heard of that. It's very sad 😔

[@SeasTarotandIntuitivereadings]

What a real champion. On and off the field.

[@Rehmedia2024]

Your not alone Spud, how can we the public help?

[@Mac-jx8uj]

Maaate my hart goes out to all suffering this awful thing , whats the answer. ? The rule makers can only make a sport like this as safe as they can without making it into touch football ( halfway there now ) so once the game meets its duty of care to the players it will still be a collision sport with danger . The players may have to sign a something ? Its never going to be 💯 % safe nothing is . One thing i notice is when i was young we were all taught to tackle around the ankles or at least below the knee's now days no reward for the grass cutting tackle. Its all upper body stuff .

[@martingoodef811]

This question has been addressed in NFL many years ago. The NRL are well aware of studies conducted by the NFL yet have not taken the appropriate steps to apply it to our game.

[@troyelliott6181]

You give me strength mark thank you

[@ManaBlack208]

Play a meathead game end up like a meathead

[@JS-lp3rm]

Spoken like a true keyboard warrior. You wouldn't say that to his face, in fact why say it at all?

[@craigleslie7615]

Sorry to hear about this. Best wishes for your treatment. That old Rabitos pack sure did hit hard and now there are consequences.

[@marksheehan8026]

Sad to hear your dilemma , l pray healing and recovering for you but forward momentum in helping others struggling with these long term issues ..

[@makersmark1974]

This elbow or push to the neck while carrying ball is the most grub like move.. Can't males today take or avoid tackles by agility or/fitness..? Who ever does the agreeing to these moves, and those management ignoring these hits; proves money/number is priority rather than players wellbeing..

[@chrisboyce1]

Did he take part in some clinical trial? Because CTE can’t be diagnosed yet

[@malehumanperson7901]

It can be diagnosed. It just can't be proven beyond doubt until a postmortem.

[@chrisboyce1]

@@malehumanperson7901 well sure your doctor can diagnose you with it as two of mine have but that doesn’t mean someone has it without a definitive test. I prefer to always say suspected CTE

[@josephs3169]

@@chrisboyce1 He mentioned a PET scan, perhaps he had a tau PET scan to detect for the abnormal protein tau that is the hallmark of CTE

[@josephs3169]

@hopewithcte4571 He could have also just had a CSF tau test, or p-tau of some sort.

[@rashneelwalla380]

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