Enough is enough

[Cyclops]

They already do provide free mental health support.

Yes but apart from aqueducts sanitation, education, public order, wine and roads, what have the Romans ever done for us?

According to some posters, the League is to blame, but also women, welcome to country, and the woke agenda.

We haven't blamed Asians Jews or Muslims yet but it's early days, we'll get there.

 

[iameviljez]

Yes but apart from aqueducts sanitation, education, public order, wine and roads, what have the Romans ever done for us?

According to some posters, the League is to blame, but also women, welcome to country, and the woke agenda.

We haven't blamed Asians Jews or Muslims yet but it's early days, we'll get there.

Yeah, exactly. I can't wait for the Judean Peoples' Front to cop it in the neck, too.

I don't blame people for being upset, but reflexively assuming the AFL and the AFLPA do nothing is ridiculous.

 

[iameviljez]

Removing some of the unnecessary concussions like the Byron Pickett running past the ball and whacking blokes is a good move, but stuff like speccies to the head, even a lot of the tackles recently, is just over sanitising, watering down the product, all so it can remain on-brand as being as woke and presentable as possible.

Not wanting blokes to suffer such crippling mental dysfunction that they kill themselves is woke, now?

 

[iameviljez]

Its next to nothing though? A phone number and 8k randomly is a pitiful effort.

It's not just a phone number.



Literally, one-on-one, away from the club, free to AFL past players and their families.

That is a very pricy service to offer, for what it's worth. Anyone who has ever seen a psychologist - let alone a psychiatrist - will know how expensive it is, and how long the wait lists usually are.

 

[Tonythetiger]

Unfortunately the fact of the matter is that men will continue to commit suicide. I am not actually sure if preventative programs will have much impact if the decision is made within, i mean it’s 2025 and what went wrong with Troy Selwood? I’d suggest there’d be a lot of support available now, however it has clearly not been utilised or accessed. Why? The answers will lie close to Troy Selwood and his closest friends or family members.

I think sometimes when the decisions are made to commit suicide then there’s no going back. Stopping and preventing is incredibly difficult.

Yeah I agree. And we never get the full picture (nor should we know any intricate details), but Selwood could have fought a long battle whereby the facilities in place delayed but not prevented this outcome. It's really tough to assess these situations and whether something is working, isn't working at all, or is partially working.

100% though I feel like studying the brains of ex athletes from CTE (provided they have consented to this) is the right path forward to assessing the real dangers of the sport. The AFL system just chews the players up and spits them out.

 

[Noidnadroj]

Im sorry but this needs its own thread and needs one ASAP

Enough is enough

If AFL can find 600 million for ****ing Gold Coast they can find some for well the actual players

We as fans need to demand better. This is just not on. Its a black stain on the game right now. It cannot contimue for even 1 day more. The top brass need to have some class and announce some funding for supporting current and ex players NOW.

Dancing around the subject and losing 1 more life cant happen.

FIX IT NOW!!!!

There are loads of free services available to ex-players … just Google ‘AFL ex-player assistance’ and help is an email or phone call away, even via the AFLPA’s own mental health professionals:

Wellbeing

As part of our mental health and wellbeing services, the AFLPA offers free, confidential and professional counselling support for all current and past players.

www.aflplayers.com.au

If Adam Hunter reached out and his call wasn’t returned or he was denied support then that’s a thread worth launching.




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[Achin joints]

Thank you. We are up to 5 since 2019.

Cam Mcarthy is another

 

[Mitchell Madness]

It’ll bury the game if a report is conducted that shows the impact of CTE contributing to suicide. If and when it comes out there will be a drop off in kids participating until the AFL totally reinvents the game to minimise head contact. It’ll literally take the AFL losing commercial benefit for them to change it. In 10 years there’ll be more players that have passed away, CTE should be front and centre of the game, and prevention should be prioritised at all costs. This could mean;

Backing into a pack - gone
Speccie / Hanger - gone
Bumping - gone

Absolutely riveted to see where this goes.

Problem is, you can get a concussion from simply standing up. There's no logic to it. Short of laying down 24 hours per day and not moving, you're at risk of concussion

 

[iameviljez]

Thank you. We are up to 5 since 2019.

I think there is some room to look at what the expected rate would be. For men aged 50 to 59, in Australia, the annual suicide rate is 30 in 100,000 (i.e. 3 in 10,000 per year), and my understanding is that men in their 40s aren't far behind.

Five in six years is, then more than expected, but it's a very small sample size (especially given the copycat effect).

I have no doubt, personally, that CTE, the brutal dream-crushing nature of professional sport, the pressures of fame, and the massive post-footy career comedown all play a part to some extent. However, over a longer timeframe, I don't think the AFL is doing terribly compared to the rest of the general population.

 

[iameviljez]

It’ll bury the game if a report is conducted that shows the impact of CTE contributing to suicide. If and when it comes out there will be a drop off in kids participating until the AFL totally reinvents the game to minimise head contact. It’ll literally take the AFL losing commercial benefit for them to change it. In 10 years there’ll be more players that have passed away, CTE should be front and centre of the game, and prevention should be prioritised at all costs. This could mean;

Backing into a pack - gone
Speccie / Hanger - gone
Bumping - gone

Absolutely riveted to see where this goes.

The link between CTE and suicide is pretty much taken for granted now, this isn't new.

 

[iameviljez]

Problem is, you can get a concussion from simply standing up. There's no logic to it. Short of laying down 24 hours per day and not moving, you're at risk of concussion

Simply sorting it into binary risk/no risk doesn't convey the whole picture, though. The rates of CTE are far lower in a sport like soccer, for example, than a full-contact sport like footy.

There are limits to that, of course - old soccer players who used to practice heading an often waterlogged, muddy, heavy ball hundreds of times per week in the 1960s/70s have developed CTE en masse. But for a park footballer, the risk of CTE is far lower for soccer than Australian Rules or the rugby codes.

 

[Toump Ass]

From Murdoch Toilet Paper re: Adam Hunter.

"According to PerthNow local detectives had seized seized drugs and paraphernalia from the scene.

Bunbury detectives have seized an amount of methamphetamine and paraphernalia from the scene"

Enough is Enough!!!

 

[MF]

To be honest, ex AFL players seem to have more access to help than a regular joe. It's a social issue and if the AFL were to do something it would be nice to see a mental health awareness round or similar initiative. Get some of the stars on camera for a campaign encouraging people who are struggling to seek help.

Keep the discussion in the spotlight and help normalise seeking help for mental health struggles.

 

[iameviljez]

To be honest, ex AFL players seem to have more access to help than a regular joe. It's a social issue and if the AFL were to do something it would be nice to see a mental health awareness round or similar initiative. Get some of the stars on camera for a campaign encouraging people who are struggling to seek help.

Keep the discussion in the spotlight and help normalise seeking help for mental health struggles.

There is already some publicity around this, too

 

[Lunchtime]

Mental health of ex players and concussion issues post career.

Brad Sheppard has to sue the Eagles to get support.... Its absolutely ridiculous

The game has the money to help, just too self-indulgent to do it.

The AFL needs to get its priorities right. Who in their right mind would want their son to play AFL after this week? You cant grow the game when your game has nothing to grow with.

If im a parent as of this week im pulling my son out of AFL immediately. The game isnt up to it right now. Im not committing my child to this life as wouldnt most parents im afraid

Whether anyone can admit it this is the worst week in AFL history. Its a absolute black stain on the game that needs to be fixed. We cant ignore it anymore

Doesn't the AFLPA provide support for players when they exit the AFL system?

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

To be honest, ex AFL players seem to have more access to help than a regular joe. It's a social issue and if the AFL were to do something it would be nice to see a mental health awareness round or similar initiative. Get some of the stars on camera for a campaign encouraging people who are struggling to seek help.

Keep the discussion in the spotlight and help normalise seeking help for mental health struggles.

Regular joes dont have concussions on a regular basis at their jobs. Its just not a fair comparison

If you put your body on the line at work I guarantee the concept of access to what regular joes have isnt what youd want

Quite simply, I dont think we as fans fully appreciate the dangers of the game and sacrifices to health that are made. We cry about ACL injuries yet clap a guy off when he gets knocked out unconscious and move on.. Its clear which one is more serious nowadays but the attiude hasnt changed enough

I think people saying a effort is okay and the fact they get more then us are not appreciating what the game actually is and what players give up. If you only wanna look at the best parts of it then its easy to come to that conclusion. I dont really wanna do that. We as fans need to appreciate the good but guarantee we do everything to lower the bad.

If we have 600 mill to throw around , we have money to fix the bad... so fix it.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

They already do provide free mental health support.

Wake up and realise Its not working.....

They need to do more.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

View attachment 2219607

It being adequate for some isnt the goal. It needs to be adequate for everyone.... If it isnt adequate for everyone thats the problem to solve

I look at Ben Cousins and say "What if Adam Hunter had the same financial support" .

I mean, do you think AFLPA paid for Ben Cousins rehab stints? or did he have to do that himself?

 

[dmc333]

It being adequate for some isnt the goal. It needs to be adequate for everyone.... If it isnt adequate for everyone thats the problem to solve

I look at Ben Cousins and say "What if Adam Hunter had the same financial support" .

I mean, do you think AFLPA paid for Ben Cousins rehab stints? or did he have to do that himself?

Probably his family.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

Probably his family.

Yep...

So do we think Ben Cousins was more desperate for help or did he just have more support to get help????

I think we all know the answer to that. Its uncomfortable but the truth

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

It being adequate for some isnt the goal. It needs to be adequate for everyone.... If it isnt adequate for everyone thats the problem to solve

I look at Ben Cousins and say "What if Adam Hunter had the same financial support" .

I mean, do you think AFLPA paid for Ben Cousins rehab stints? or did he have to do that himself?

How do you know it wasn’t adequate for others?

You’ve jumped to a conclusion that it’s not based on an unknown cause of death.

 

[BigPond101]

Yep...

So do we think Ben Cousins was more desperate for help or did he just have more support to get help????

I think we all know the answer to that. Its uncomfortable but the truth

Knowing first hand how Cousins was treated in highschool I doubt he has paid for much of anything since he was about 17

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

How do you know it wasn’t adequate for others?

You’ve jumped to a conclusion that it’s not based on an unknown cause of death.

Because of the hundreds of people saying otherwise? You cherry picked 1 person who agrees its good enough and you got lawsuits and many others saying its not..

This isnt a issue of just 3 days. Its much much deeper then that. Its just enough being enough at this point.

When you got people like Greg Williams saying they cant remember their life because of AFL I kind of think Callum Chambers opinions on support isnt the one I want to focus on... You can focus on that. Id like to bring attention to

Michel Margalit, a lawyer involved in one of the class actions, said it was important given many players were so debilitated by their playing days they couldn't hold down other jobs.

'The injuries suffered by this group of former AFL players, as a direct result of the concussions sustained while playing Aussie Rules, has had a devastating impact on their lives and the lives of their loved ones,' she said.

'Some of the players who have joined this landmark class action have never been able to hold down a job after leaving the AFL.

'Their personal lives have been shattered and they live with constant physical and mental pain. It's heart-breaking and they need to be adequately cared for.'

And ask you. Should we run with Callum Chambers thoughts or does the AFL need to put Callums thoughts aside to address the above?

 

[iameviljez]

Wake up and realise Its not working.....

They need to do more.

I think they're doing more than what they are reasonably obligated to do.

I would kill to get free lifelong psychological support for me and my family. That is massive. They also have an injury and hardship fund that subsidises healthcare for footy-related injuries.

IMO they could do more regarding lifetime healthcare for footy-related injuries regardless of cost - players like Matty Egan will rack up medical bills in excess of payments. The same goes for managing CTE, as it starts to come to the fore just how damaging CTE actually is.

But at the end of the day, they can't just drive down to the house of Player X or Y and make sure they're not about to do the unthinkable. They have a duty of care, not a duty of parenthood.