AFL Leadership Accused of 'Failure' as Late Star Adam Hunter's Friend Demands CTE Accountability

The Australian Football League (AFL) Commission is facing a scathing critique from Dave Andrews, the grieving best friend of late West Coast Eagles legend Adam Hunter. Hunter, who tragically succumbed to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), is at the heart of Andrews' impassioned plea. In a letter addressed to the Commission, chaired by Craig Drummond, Andrews unequivocally states that the league has 'failed' in its fundamental duty to safeguard its athletes against the debilitating neurodegenerative condition.

Within the five-page correspondence, Andrews directly confronts the league, declaring: 'You have failed him.' His letter emphasizes Hunter's profound sacrifice for Australian Rules football while imploring AFL leadership to proactively educate players about the critical risks associated with CTE. Hunter, who passed away last year battling the effects of CTE, became a central figure in a recent Four Corners exposé. This investigation brought to light the alarming statistic that 33 Australian Rules players have now been posthumously diagnosed with the brain disease, which is definitively linked to repeated head impacts and can only be identified after death.

A 'Shared Responsibility' or Organizational Duty?

The catalyst for Andrews' fervent appeal appears to be recent comments made by AFL executive Laura Kane. During a Monday night report, Kane asserted that 'our job is not to communicate every single aspect of risk that exists in our game' and characterized player safety as a 'shared responsibility.' These remarks galvanized Andrews to pen his letter, in which he vehemently challenged the AFL's stance. 'I am not a lawyer, but I know enough to tell you that the position Ms Kane articulated on national television is untenable,' Andrews wrote. He continued, highlighting the overwhelming scientific consensus: 'The weight of scientific evidence linking repetitive head impacts to CTE is substantial and growing. The duty is on the organisations, not on the players, to inform, protect, and provide safe systems of play. Ms Kane's statement on Four Corners is directly inconsistent with this obligation at every level of the game.'

Andrews, a business manager by profession, extended his appeal beyond the AFL Commission. On Thursday, he dispatched similar letters to a wide array of influential figures, including AFL CEO Andrew Dillon, AFL Players Association chief James Gallagher, West Coast Eagles chair and Fortescue boss Elizabeth Gaines. Further correspondence was sent to the chairs of ASIC and WorkSafe Australia (both Victoria and Western Australia branches), alongside the junior and local football clubs where Hunter honed his skills.

Echoes of Past Corporate Failures

Andrews implored the AFL to take decisive action, drawing a stark and controversial parallel between the league's current posture and the infamous James Hardie asbestos scandal. He argues that just as the company was aware of inherent dangers but neglected to inform its workforce, the AFL finds itself in a similar moral and ethical quandary. 'The parallel to James Hardie is unavoidable,' Andrews asserted. 'Directors and officers who were aware of health-related liabilities from asbestos exposure breached their duty of care by failing to properly disclose and address those risks. The AFL Commission and its affiliated club boards are in an analogous position aware of a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease linked to the core activity of their sport, affecting dozens of former participants across all levels of the game, and choosing a posture of minimisation rather than proactive disclosure and protection.'

His call to action is unequivocal: 'I am asking the AFL Commission and each club board to stop treating duty of care as a discretionary matter to be shared or deferred. It is a non-delegable obligation.' Andrews poignantly acknowledged the irreversible loss of his friend, stating, 'Adam cannot be brought back.' However, he emphasized the imperative to protect current and future generations of players. 'But the players on your lists right now from the AFL, the WAFL, and the kids running out for South Bunbury on a Saturday morning, the ones training today, the ones being drafted next year, the ones playing community football under your governance, deserve boards at every level that treat their brain health as what it is: a foreseeable risk that the law requires you to address with urgency, transparency, and comprehensive action.'

The Unspoken Toll of Dedication

Andrews' letter painted a vivid picture of Hunter's unwavering commitment to the game. He wrote that Hunter 'was always there for his teammates, always wanted the ball when the game was on the line.' This deep-seated dedication propelled Hunter to a remarkable career, culminating in a 2006 premiership victory and an impressive 151 AFL games.

'That determination carried him from South Bunbury to Swan Districts to the Eagles and back again,' Andrews recounted. Poignantly, he added, 'It also meant he never complained about or questioned the toll the game was taking on his brain, because persistence was everything to him.' Andrews concluded this section by asserting that 'The organisations he played for, and the directors of those organisations, owed him a duty of care that matched his persistence and commitment to them.' His powerful letter was signed simply as 'a grieving best mate.'

Further underscoring the family's distress, Joanne Brown, Hunter's mother, informed the ABC on Thursday that the AFL has yet to make contact since their previous discussion about her son's agonizing struggle with CTE. Mrs. Brown expressed her conviction that the AFL remains in a state of 'denial.' Adam Hunter was only 43 years old when he passed away last year.

Understanding CTE and Dispelling Misconceptions

Individuals afflicted with CTE often exhibit a range of severe symptoms, including depression, anxiety, memory impairment, cognitive difficulties, aggression, and various forms of addiction, such as substance abuse. Adam Hunter, tragically, battled drug addiction in his later years. However, leading neuropathologists, like Dr. Michael Buckland, emphatically refute attempts by some sports doctors to link CTE pathology to drug and alcohol abuse. In the Four Corners report, Dr. Buckland criticized a tendency among certain medical professionals closely affiliated with contact sports to 'victim blame' in discussions surrounding CTE and football. He stated, 'There can be a culture of victim blaming but there is no evidence that drugs and alcohol cause CTE; in fact, there's evidence of the opposite. I am a bit stumped as to why sport-associated doctors continue to trot out what seems to be an excuse … it's their fault they've got it … it's not the code's fault.'

The AFL's Stated Commitment to Player Safety

The AFL has consistently asserted that player health and safety stand as the league's paramount concern. Over the past two decades, the organization states it has implemented over 30 rule modifications aimed at safeguarding players' neurological well-being. It was only in April 2023 that the AFL officially recognized the direct correlation between the sport and CTE. Later that year, seven months after the AFL's acknowledgment, the coroner investigating the death of former Richmond player Shane Tuck issued a recommendation for the AFL to restrict contact training, thereby mitigating concussion risks. This measure is slated for introduction at the commencement of the 2027 pre-season. Despite these developments, the AFL currently lacks a formal CTE policy, though Ms. Kane affirmed that the league does apprise players of the inherent risks.

Responding to queries, an AFL spokesperson informed the ABC that Andrews' letter had not yet been formally received via post but would be thoroughly reviewed upon its arrival. The spokesperson reasserted the league's unwavering commitment to player welfare. 'The AFL's highest priority is the health and safety and all players and we continue to undertake significant work to make the game safer,' the spokesperson stated. They added, 'As an industry, we continue to learn, develop and grow to ensure we do everything we can to keep players and the game as safe as possible.' Acknowledging the global challenge, the spokesperson continued, 'Head trauma is a consideration for all contact sports around the world and as a professional sporting body governing a contact sport, the AFL has clear governance, policy and guidelines around how our game is played.' The league emphasized its investment in understanding neurodegenerative disease: 'Considerable resources have been placed around better understanding the link of repeated head trauma and neurodegenerative disease and the AFL has made more than 30 changes to on-field rules and Match Review and Tribunal guidelines over the past two decades to further protect the safety of players in the game and as a league we continue to be guided by medical experts on this.' The AFL affirmed that its rules and guidelines evolve in parallel with advancing medical research, noting the impending reduction of contact training. 'Making the game safer is a shared responsibility across our industry,' an AFL spokesperson relayed to the ABC. 'Through the newly formed Contact Training Consultation Group, clubs are currently working together with the AFL on what training limits will look like in 2027.' Finally, the spokesperson detailed educational efforts: 'Annually, the AFL's Chief Medical Officer, supported by the AFL's broader healthcare team, provide our AFL and AFLW playing cohorts with formal education around concussion, long-term risks and symptoms.'