A recent ABC report found more AFL sports people have been diagnosed with CTE than previously thought. What needs to change to protect athletes?
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) has been in the news recently, with ABC Four Corners reporting that there are many more diagnosed cases in AFL players than previously thought.
The degenerative brain disease is caused by repeated knocks to the head, like concussion, and it can only be properly diagnosed after death.
Experts are alarmed about the higher numbers and they’re calling for more action from the AFL.
But what is CTE and what can be done to protect these athletes, without having to sacrifice the sports Australians love?
This week, Ben and Anoushka speak to Prof Alan Pearce, from Swinburne University of Technology, and Dr Matthew Lennon, from UNSW's Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, about their CTE research and what they think can be done to protect professional and amateur sportspeople in high contact sports.
