D'Arcy Waldegrave: Sportstalk host on Shane Christie's death

Former Māori All Black Shane Christie has died in Nelson, aged 39.

Friends of Christie have told NZME it was believed his death was self-inflicted and came after a period during which concern over his wellbeing had increased.

Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave paid tribute.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hither you're bang on? Read the health insurance. I've been
preaching this for years. Pay yourself when you spend on
health insurance, build up your own fund. YEA for you. Cheers, Carol, Carol,
thank you. Nineteen passport Darcy Watergrave was with me. Hello
Dart Sport with T A. B. Walt's Fast DZ and
more codes SORR eighteen bed responsible your special noise.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
I thought that the text said heither you bang on?
But no, no, no, is that why you agree? You do?

Speaker 1 (00:24):
Be your head? Hi Heather, Hello Darcy. So Shane Christy,
what's happened here?

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Unreported as to exactly what the cause of death was
suspected by his own hand, but we don't know.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
Had he taken some head knocks a lot really.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
He retired from the game a few years ago. He's
doing a lot of work with Billy Geison, was a
friend of his who also took his own life, who
was examined for CTE and he had it. And he's
been in this space for a long time. Shane Christy
trying to educate people and understand exactly what it meant.

(01:07):
He had headaches. It showed the classic signs of it.
It was really he's only thirty nine years of age.
And now previously he had said he's actually told the
Herald that once he'd passed, he would actually like his
brain studied to see if indeed CTA was part of
the problems that he had with his continued headaches and

(01:31):
hurt all the time he walked. It just a devastating disease.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
To have to live with it, that would be so debilitating.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
Impossible, not even close. I can cast myself a few
years ago, and I found that quite stressful, and there
was no pain. It was just the loss of thoughts,
that concentrating thought. You accelerate that more so when you've
taken repeated head knocks. It's terrifying. That's what it is.
Maybe a couple of decades ago, it wasn't really considered

(02:00):
it very much is now, and even though some in
world Rugby are trying to distant themselves from the connection,
it's there and it's irresponsible not to say.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
Are you talking about this on the show this evening.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
I'm looking to get the services of a couple of
people who specialize in CTE. Plainly, it's pretty raw for
a lot of these people who would have had a
lot to do with Shane, so we are waiting to
get that connection.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
Great hey, thank you Darcy, best of like with that
and looking forward to hearing it. That's Darcy water Grave,
sports talk host to a back at seven this evening
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