Pain, glory, concussion: former AFL players and their families speak out about league inaction

They are men who lived on the field, playing the game which helped to define them. But for some former AFL players, those moments of pain and glory have been washed away with such severe memory loss that they can no longer recall their most celebrated achievements, nor other significant details from their lives.

That player says he had a brain scan a few years ago on the recommendation of Dr Paul McCrory, the neurologist who last month resigned as chair of the global Concussion in Sport Group amid allegations of plagiarism.

As revealed by the Guardian, McCrory is now the subject of an independent review launched by the AFL, for whom he was said to have led research, advised on concussion policies and treated and diagnosed athletes sustaining concussions and other serious head injuries.

McCrory has not responded to requests for comment from the Guardian in relation to these matters.

Some past players who spoke in confidence to Guardian Australia suffer from such severe memory loss they can no longer operate normally in life.

Some struggle with short-term memory, managing to stay employed by carrying around a notepad at work so they can quietly write down directions from managers or colleagues. Others endure debilitating headaches, unsettling aggression, depression and anxiety.

This player wants to remain unnamed to preserve the last sliver of his identity not defined by his brain injuries.

He is one of a number of former players to have had their brains tested through a 2013 Deakin University study which found memory, reflexes and muscle coordination could all be impaired by concussive and sub-concussive impacts.

Another player, who also took part in the independent Deakin study, says he did so because there was, at that stage, no option to do so through the AFL.

The wife of a former player, whose condition has deteriorated so rapidly he is in respite care in his 60s, had a different experience with the AFLPA.

She said she was offered access to a counselling service for herself.

The AFLPA and AFL are negotiating a new CBA, with the current one due to expire at the end of October.

The wife of the player in care has also been writing to the AFL, including the chief executive, Gillon McLachlan.

She says her husband had been due to take part in AFL-run brain scans, which the family welcomed, but had to postpone when he was suddenly admitted to hospital.

He is one of numerous past players who intend to join a planned concussion class action against the AFL.

Know more? Contact emma.kemp@theguardian.com