NRL great Corey Parker opens up about his suspected brain damage as his wife reveals how too many knocks to his head has left him ‘sleepwalking’ through life

By William On Jun 1, 2024

An NRL legend has told how he believes his career left him with brain damage, as his wife reveals the signs she knew something was wrong.

Former Brisbane Broncos star Corey Parker, 42, believes he has chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive and fatal brain disease associated with repeated blows to the head.

Although the sports commentator has not yet received any scans or tests to confirm this, his wife and partner of 21 years, Margaux, have says he struggles with thought processing and has “signs of forgetfulness.”

‘It’s like he’s sleepwalking because he’s not aware of what he’s doing. At night he will get up not knowing where he is,” she says told the Courier Post.

“If he talks, it won’t always make sense in the conversation we just had.”

NRL legend and sports commentator Corey Parker, 42, has revealed he may have CTE and his wife wants him to get tested

The 16-year NRL veteran said he has become increasingly forgetful and will donate his brain to medical research when he dies

Mrs Parker, a Triple M radio presenter, said her husband’s condition worsened after he had a few drinks, adding that this could lead to him having “blackout moments”.

When the couple stays in a hotel, Mrs. Parker makes sure the door is locked so her husband doesn’t accidentally walk out of the room and get lost.

She encouraged Parker to undergo treatment and have the appropriate tests done.

Ms. Parker said she knows a doctor who told her they might be able to help Parker and his former teammate Wally Lewis.

Lewis, along with co-stars Mario Fenech and Ray Price, recently revealed that they had been diagnosed with early-onset dementia.

Parker has already offered to donate his brain to the Australian Sports Brain Bank for medical research after his death.

He said it would be “naive” to think that after 16 years in the sport he would not have symptoms of CTE.

Mrs Parker said her husband’s condition worsens when he drinks and when they stay in hotels she has to lock the door so he doesn’t leave the room and get lost.

Parker said that in the 400 senior-level games he played during his career, he had ‘definitely’ done some damage to his brain

Despite his time in the NRL being ‘great’, Parker admitted some of his clashes on the football field were ‘not great’ and he now suffers from memory loss.

He added that during his career he would feign injuries to other parts of his body if he suspected he was having a concussion so he could buy more time to clear his head.

“Towards the end of my career, I got hit in the head, but I would grab my shoulder or my leg and pretend like something else was hurt to hide the fact that I was getting hit in the head,” he told the publication.

Parker said that while he didn’t think he had any emotional problems from possible CTE, he was scared because his grandparents both died of dementia in their 70s.

Parker said he has not been tested or had any scans done to prove he has brain damage, but he is open to it.

By donating his brain, Parker hopes to help future players avoid the damage he suffered, especially his own children who have recently started playing sports themselves

Symptoms of CTE can include memory loss, depression, aggression, and suicidal thoughts.

His old teammate Paul Green, 49, took his own life in 2022, after which doctors revealed he was suffering from CTE.

Steve Folkes was the first NRL player to be diagnosed with the condition, which is also common in American football players.

Parker said he now only remembers “very small” parts of his career, which is becoming a “blur,” and has since started sending himself text messages and setting reminders for important things.

He is grateful that stricter rules and regulations have been imposed on younger generations playing football, including his own sons.

The father-of-four played 347 games for the Broncos, 19 games for Australia and 13 Origins for Queensland during his decorated career.

He first opened up about his health problems on SEN radio in February.

‘I do not doubt it; “I have no doubt during my tenure as a rugby league player that I have symptoms, I have symptoms of CTE,” he said.

‘But it’s something you only really get to grips with when you’re post-mortem.

‘You can’t expect to practice a sport with a lot of collisions, [and] for [close to] 20 of those years at a high level, and had no side effects.

“You can try to arrange different things, but the damage is already done, right?”

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CTE – THE BRAIN DISEASE CAUSED BY REPEATED HEAD TRAUMA COMMON TO NFL PLAYERS AND VET AFTER THEY DIE

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated blows to the head. Over time, these hits result in the buildup of tau protein around the brain, which can lead to diabetes confusion, depression and ultimately dementia.

There have been several retired footballers who have come forward with brain diseases, many of whom attribute their condition to the game.

More than 1,800 former athletes and military veterans have pledged to donate their brains to the Concussion Legacy Foundation for CTE research.

CTE was most commonly associated with boxing before former NFL players began disclosing their conditions.

Several notable players who committed suicide were posthumously diagnosed with the disease, such as Junior Seau and Aaron Hernandez.

Although often linked to concussions, many researchers such as Lee E. Goldstein, MD, PhD, associate professor at Boston University, now believe that sub-concussions also play an important role in CTE.

“Over the course of an NFL season, the vast majority of hits are sub-concussions,” Goldstein told DailyMail.com. ‘I’m not saying [the NFL is] wrong to focus on concussions. But I say they have wrong priorities.’