Adelaide AFLW premiership participant Heather Anderson is the primary identified skilled feminine athlete to be recognized with the degenerative mind illness continual traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Anderson, a member of the Crows’ flag-winning staff in 2017, took her personal life in November final yr on the age of 28.
The Australian Sports Brain Bank has recognized Anderson as having had low-stage CTE and three lesions in her mind, in keeping with the ABC.
The financial institution’s director Professor Michael Buckland stated the analysis, reported within the Springer Medical Journal, is critical.
“While we’ve been finding CTE in males for quite some time, I think this is really the tip of the iceberg,” he informed the ABC’s 7.30 Report.
“And it’s a real red flag that now women are participating (in contacts sports) just as men are, that we are going to start seeing more and more CTE cases in women.”
Anderson’s father, Brian Anderson, stated the analysis was “a surprise but not a surprise”.
“Now that this report has been published, I’m sort of trying to think about how it might play out for female sportspeople everywhere,” he informed the ABC.
“Suicide, it’s a tough one, it’s a tough way to see your child die, it’s tough to see your child die anyway.
“But suicide causes you to re-examine all the things, to take a look at each interplay.”
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Source: www.perthnow.com.au
