Shane Christie, the former Māori All Blacks player who had wanted his brain to be studied after suffering from the effects of multiple concussions, has died aged 39.
The New Zealand rugby player had campaigned for greater awareness in rugby of the impact of repeated blows to the head. After retiring from the game in 2017, Christie reportedly suffered from headaches, memory lapses, speech problems, depression and mood swings consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Christie, who also played for Otago Highlanders, Canterbury Crusaders and the All Blacks sevens team, was found dead at his home in Nelson on Wednesday morning after police were called to the address. “The death will be referred to the coroner and we have no further information or comment we can provide,” said police.
New Zealand Rugby said Christie was deeply passionate about the sport and would be “remembered always”. “Any time the rugby community loses a member it is felt deeply,” New Zealand Rugby said. “Shane’s passion for the game will be remembered always. Our thoughts are with Shane’s whānau [family], friends, former teammates, and community at this incredibly difficult time.”
Christie reportedly wanted to donate his brain to the New Zealand sports human brain bank for its studies into CTE, a degenerative disease caused by repetitive head trauma that cannot be detected in living people. “Without brain donations we’re not going to be able to identify how long it takes to get this disease. It’s important to help the research in New Zealand,” Christie had said.
Christie helped set up the Billy Guyton Foundation with the aim of further understanding the effects of concussion on players after the death of his teammate in 2023. Guyton was the first New Zealand rugby player to be diagnosed with CTE.
