NRL legend Robbie O’Davis has revealed the heartbreaking moment he almost ended his life before understanding the impacts of undiagnosed brain damage from his fearless playing days.
O’Davis, now 50, nearly jumped off a cliff while drinking an entire case of 24 beers, throwing the empty bottles overboard and watching them shatter on the rocks.
“I would sit on the edge and drink a carton of beer and throw one overboard and look at it and it would break and I would think, ‘I’ll follow it,'” he said at 7News. Sunday.
Things got so bad for the Newcastle Knights speedster, a two-time premiership minister, that he performed the same sinister cliff-top ritual six times.
Every time he considered ending his life, he thought of his teenage son and daughter, which kept him from going through with it.
Robbie O’Davis with his wife Louise, who is part of a support group for football wives and girlfriends whose partners have been affected by CTE
“You don’t want to lose a father,” said his tearful daughter, 15-year-old Dior O’Davis.
“He’s my best friend, he’s my protector. It’s hard to hear all this.
The sad reason Robbie O’Davis took years to seek help after his 223-game career was because he feared he would get in trouble for throwing empty trash off the cliff.
O’Davis didn’t know at the time that his mood swings and depression were symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
It is a progressive brain disease associated with repeated head trauma, dementia, and eventually premature death.
He was diagnosed with CTE in April by Dr Rowena Mobbs, Australia’s leading CTE clinician.
Reflecting on his career, which saw him represent Queensland and Australia, O’Davis said his height – at just 172cm – probably made him vulnerable as he regularly tried to dodge tackles “at forearm level.
Although there are now stricter rules to protect players who have suffered blows to the head, this does not help the legends of the game who have long since retired.
Robbie O’Davis’ wife Louise said although his diagnosis was widely known in rugby league circles, neither had been contacted by the NRL.
The former Knights speedster, who played 223 NRL games, became so depressed because of CTE that he considered ending his life six times. Pictured: Robbie O’Davis after suffering a horrific injury a year before his retirement in 2004
Ms. O’Davis broke down at a support group for soccer wives and girlfriends dealing with the impacts of their partners’ progressive CTE.
“He has one of the worst brain scans (Ms Mobbs) has ever seen,” Ms O’Davis said.
But in a major development, the NRL has now established the Life After Football Foundation to fund medical costs, including the cost of an annual brain scan for former players.
The disease is strongly associated with athletes who suffer either repeated blows to the head and especially concussions.
Former rugby league, Australian rules and rugby union players have been diagnosed – as well as many other contact sports across the world.
O’Davis is one of several former A-list stars leading ongoing campaigns to obtain key codes to help ex-players.
Another victim of CTE is John Platten, an AFL Hall of Famer who won four premierships and was a Brownlow Medalist in 1987.
He suffered 40 concussions during a distinguished 18-year career.
Another victim of CTE is John Platten, an AFL Hall of Famer who won four premierships and was a Brownlow Medalist in 1987.
Platten suffered 40 concussions during his successful career as an Aussie Rules player
Platten told 7News he did not remember winning the 1989 VFL grand final in which he suffered a concussion.
In a moving scene, Platten viewed his brain scans to ask how he could get better.
Dr. Mobbs, chief medical advisor to Connectors Australiaa charity that supports people with CTE and their loved ones, told a tearful Platten that it wouldn’t get better.
“I really hope that I am wrong of course and that there is a change in these scans and in you.”
A Melbourne law firm, Margalit Injury Lawyers, is leading a class action on behalf of all former AFL players who suffered head injuries between 1985 and 2023.
The company’s director, Michel Margalit, wants CTE to be treated as a work accident, pointing out that football players have been excluded from work coverage “at the national level.”
For free mental health support, call Lifeline Australia: 13 11 14.
