logo
Teen Dies After Controversial Tackle Game

Teen Dies After Controversial Tackle Game

Scoop28-05-2025
A teenager has died after suffering a head injury while playing a private 'run it straight-style' tackle game in Palmerston North.
It follows on from official RUNIT events taking place in Auckland last week, with a quarter of participants in one event reportedly suffering concussions.
The Science Media Centre asked experts to comment.
Professor Louise Parr-Brownlie (Ngāti Maniapoto, Te Arawa), Neuroscientist in the Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, comments:
'All unnecessary deaths are tragic, and leave a trail of destruction for whānau and friends. Ngā mihi ki te whānau me ngā hoa o Ryan Satterthwaite.
'Tackle game appears to be the latest version of a gladiator sport – adrenaline-driven risk taking by the gladiators that provides entertainment for those watching. Consequently, there are significant prizes up for grabs for competitors in organised competitions.
'Be cautious! Injury occurs when two people collide running at significant speed. Impact forces damage body tissues.
'Head injuries will occur from direct impact when one person's head collides the other person's head, part of their body or the ground. However, injury will also occur when there is no external impact – through whiplash. Here, when the body stops suddenly, but the head and brain snaps forwards or backwards, the cerebrospinal fluid that normally suspends and cushions the brain cannot prevent it from hitting the skull. This impact within the head tears brain and supporting connective tissues.
'As a consequence, brain function will be altered due to swelling or damage. The brain is bruised and the person is concussed. If the damage or swelling is severe, the person may die unless there is an emergency medical intervention.
'Fans of tackle game competitions enjoy the strengthened sense of community at these events. Connecting, the sense of belonging and forming deep relationships are good for mental health. But there are many other ways to connect and improve mental health without increasing the risk of a brain injury or death for a friend or competitor.'
No conflicts of interest.
Dr Josh McGeown, Senior Research Fellow – Mātai Medical Research Institute, comments:
'This is an incredibly sad – but unfortunately foreseeable – loss of life.
'While 'Run it Straight' events may superficially appear to resemble rugby or league, they are fundamentally different. In rugby codes, a primary concern is the risk of concussion. Decades of research have focused on understanding the biomechanics, assessment, prevention and rehabilitation of these injuries to reduce the risks. Safeguards like modified rules, medical oversight, proper training, and safe technique are integral to making sport safer.
'The format of 'Run it Straight' disregards these advances in sports medicine by deliberately creating 'battlefield' conditions that maximise the intensity of each collision. From a brain injury perspective, this shifts concerns from risk of concussion – serious in itself – to high risk of catastrophic and immediately life-threatening brain trauma due to skull fractures or brain bleeds. These severe forms of injury are more commonly seen in high-speed crashes than in organised sport.
'The RUNIT League promotes itself as the 'world's fiercest collision sport… built to break limits.' They say it was 'born to go viral.' That's exactly the problem and reflects a broader issue: the role of media in amplifying high-risk behaviour. When these stunts trend online or feature in mainstream reporting, they become socially endorsed. Glorifying violent collisions as entertainment and rewarding domination creates a culture of imitation – especially among young men – with dire consequences.
'This is where the distinction between RUNIT and sports like rugby matters most. In sport, injury is a risk. In RUNIT, injury is the objective. These events are not a test of toughness or resilience. They are deliberately engineered to cause harm for the sake of views and virality.'
Conflict of interest statement: 'I have received funding from the New Zealand Rugby Foundation.'
Professor Patria Hume, Professor Human Performance, AUT, comments:
'Last week in media interviews I stated that 'It is very clear from the number of concussions from the small number of 'running at each other events' that have occurred, that this is going to result in death'. I also said it unfortunately takes a death to make people take notice and to stop these high injury risk activities.
'This was a back yard copycat of the RunIt events. Ryan's death was preventable.
'The 'King of the Streets' 'event' based on UFC is also a high-risk event.
'We need people to stop participating in activities where the intention is to hurt someone.
'Why is this not considered assault?
'When two 150 kg rugby players collide at full sprint, the impact force can exceed 24,000 Newtons—far greater than a car crash at 30 km/h. These are not just games; they are high-speed collisions with the potential to cause life-altering brain injuries and death. Our biomechanics calculations show that the human body is not built to absorb this level of force repeatedly without consequence.
'The force of an intentional collision between two sprinting players is nearly five times that of a professional boxer's punch and more than twice the force of falling from two meters. These numbers are not just statistics—they represent a serious risk of concussion, fractures, with the potential to cause life-altering brain injuries and death. We must treat these impacts with the same seriousness as we do car crashes.'
No conflicts of interest.
Professor Melanie Bussey, School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Otago, comments:
'The 'Run it Straight' event involves players tackling one another head-on at full run-up speed, a format that raises serious safety concerns. Current research is in agreement that front-on, upright tackles carry a significantly higher risk of concussions and neck injury. Moreover, our recent instrumented mouthguard research confirms that these tackles result in significantly higher head acceleration outcomes, which increases the likelihood of serious brain trauma. Objectively, this style of contact is among the highest-risk in sport when it comes to head and neck injury.
'At a time when player associations and governing bodies, across various sporting codes, are working hard to improve player welfare and reduce preventable injuries, the introduction of such a high-risk event seems not only counterproductive but deeply concerning.'
Conflict of interest statement: 'My research has been funded by World Rugby as well as the NZ rugby foundation, I have working relationships with Prevent Biometrics and New Zealand Rugby both through my own research work and the work of my students.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Boost in job satisfaction, health: four-day work week benefits
Boost in job satisfaction, health: four-day work week benefits

Otago Daily Times

time2 days ago

  • Otago Daily Times

Boost in job satisfaction, health: four-day work week benefits

Working less could give us more, a new study suggests. Four-day work weeks without a reduction in income are found to boost workers' job satisfaction and physical and mental health, driven by enhanced work performance, lower levels of fatigue and fewer sleep problems, new research suggests. The findings, published in Nature Human Behaviour, highlight the potential for organisations and policymakers to improve employee well-being by re-evaluating workplace hours. Initiatives that reduce working hours — such as a six-hour workday or a 20% reduction in working time — have recently been trialled around the world. For example, the 4 Day Week Global initiative has run trials in many countries, with participation from about 375 companies, to understand how a shortened work week — without a reduction in pay — can result in a better working environment. To test the effects of the four-day work week (with no reduction in worker pay) intervention, Wen Fan, Juliet Schor and colleagues conducted six-month trials that involved 2896 employees across 141 organisations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland and the USA. Using survey data, they compared work- and health-related indicators (including burnout, job satisfaction, mental and physical health) before and after the intervention. They also compared these outcomes with those from 285 employees at 12 companies that did not trial the intervention. Fan and colleagues found that after the four-day work week intervention, there was a reduction in average working hours of about five hours per week. Employees with a reduction of eight hours or more per work week self-reported experiencing larger reductions in burnout and improvements in job satisfaction and mental health, as compared with those at companies that maintained a five-day workweek. Similar, though smaller, effects were observed among employees with between one and four hour and five and seven hour reductions in their work week. These benefits were partially explained by a reduced number of sleeping problems and levels of fatigue, and improved individual work ability. The authors suggest that shorter work weeks and reduced working hours without a reduction in salary can help to improve job satisfaction and worker health. They note that a key limitation of the study was companies self-selecting to participate, and resulted in a sample that consists predominantly of smaller companies from English-speaking countries. — Science Media Centre

Peters challenged on tobacco links
Peters challenged on tobacco links

Otago Daily Times

time2 days ago

  • Otago Daily Times

Peters challenged on tobacco links

Public health researchers at the University of Otago have called on the prime minister to show some leadership and remove the tobacco and vaping portfolio from New Zealand First, following allegations the party has been colluding with tobacco giant Philip Morris. Documents from a Radio NZ investigation show Philip Morris provided NZ First with a draft piece of regulation which the deputy prime minister at the time, Winston Peters, supported. They show NZ First assured Philip Morris they would "put that draft into the policy mix". Mr Peters said the documents referenced were more than six years old, and the attempt to attack NZ First was "old, stale, repetitive, and utterly baseless". The allegation comes after NZ First list MP and Associate Health Minister Casey Costello led the repeal of the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022. It effectively scrapped laws aimed at slashing tobacco retailers, removing 95% of the nicotine from cigarettes, and creating a smokefree generation by banning sales to those born after 2009. University of Otago Aspire Aotearoa Research Centre co-director and public health researcher Prof Janet Hoek said the fact the documents were six years old was "neither here nor there", because NZ First had repeatedly denied having any connections with the tobacco industry. The revelation raised questions about how easily companies were able to access politicians, and the kind of lobbying that went on behind closed doors. "The challenge that he [Mr Peters] has to address is that there have been allegations that he's been dealing with tobacco companies and using their documents to inform policy. "None of his statements, none of his rebuttals, address that concern. "What we need is some transparency — some actual evidence showing that these allegations that have been put forth in the documents don't stand, and that's not what he's been able to provide. "I think he really needs to be held to account here." She said Mr Peters' instinctive response was "attack is the best defence". "I think there's actually a real question about integrity of the political process here, and what people want to feel is that politicians are acting in the best interest of the country, not the best interest of the tobacco company." Prof Hoek said the "discrepancy" was further decreasing trust in the government, and called on Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to assert some leadership and removed the tobacco and vaping portfolio from NZ First, and entrust it to a politician without alleged links to tobacco giants. "We know that tobacco companies operate in the shadows by lobbying politicians. "What these documents reveal are claims that tobacco companies are not just lobbying, they are writing policy. "The New Zealand public will be disgusted to learn that is how the party that should be promoting public health is allegedly behaving." Fellow Aspire co-director Prof Richard Edwards said the repeal of New Zealand's world-leading smokefree legislation prompted a huge outcry from communities affected by smoking, health organisations, health professionals and public health experts. "The repeal raised questions about influence of the tobacco industry. "Subsequent industry-friendly policies like tax cuts for heated tobacco products only increased those concerns, and the recent revelations of close links between NZ First and Philip Morris suggest these concerns were well-founded." He called for the urgent reintroduction of the repealed measures, which were very likely to rapidly reduce the enormous harm from smoking, and protect future generations from smoking. Asked to respond to the accusations, a spokesman for Mr Peters pointed to a social media post online. In it, Mr Peters said the documents referenced were more than six years old, and the "attempt to attack NZ First is old, stale, repetitive, and utterly baseless". He said multiple government departments had themselves proactively reached out to "big tobacco" for direct feedback and advice on tobacco legislation. He accused Radio NZ of being "clearly lefty biased", and their "bottom-of-the-barrel attack reporting" had caused New Zealanders to lose trust in them and switch to other stations. "The smokefree legislation that we implemented is working," he said. "New Zealand First is proud of the smokefree legislation, which is backed by Action for Smokefree 2025 (ASH), that we have implemented and that we are still implementing."

Former Black Fern fundraising after shock cancer diagnosis
Former Black Fern fundraising after shock cancer diagnosis

1News

time2 days ago

  • 1News

Former Black Fern fundraising after shock cancer diagnosis

Cheryl Waaka, a former Black Fern and a māmā to two teenagers, is now facing her toughest opponent yet, stage 4 bowel cancer. She was a fit and strong wāhine Māori hailing from Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Kahungunu, she's won two World Cups in the black jersey and is still dedicated to the game — but her diagnosis in June has left her stricken with sadness. "I was healthy, running around, doing my everyday job. It was King's birthday weekend. There was a Johnny Isaacs Māori tournament in Kaikohe. I was running the line, AR-ing, and three days later, I'm on the floor in excruciating pain." She remembers the day her life was changed forever. "I got my brother to get me to the GP in Kaikohe. Ambulance to Kawakawa. Ambulance to Whangārei and then that night, broke the news that I have a tumour in my bowel and I need to have emergency surgery. ADVERTISEMENT "I suppose I'm very lucky to my surgeon. He got the tumour, but unfortunately, it spread to my liver. In March, Health Minister Simeon Brown announced the National Bowel Screening Age would be lowered for all New Zealanders from 60 to 58, a step he said would save hundreds of lives. The "redirected" funding was previously set aside for a pilot programme that allowed Māori and Pacific people to access bowel cancer screening starting at age 50. While Brown said the age of eligibility for free bowel screening was projected to prevent an additional 771 bowel cancers and an additional 566 bowel cancer deaths over the next 25 years, advocates called the move "institutionalised racism" as half of bowel cancers in Māori occurred before the age of 60. Waaka, who was up to date on all her health checks, said if the screening age was lowered to 50, her diagnosis would not have been stage 4. "If it didn't happen now, would [the tumor] have been still sitting there, and by the time I got to 58, if I got to 58, it might have been too late. "You look at me, strong, fit, healthy. It can happen to anyone. And I don't want it to happen to anyone." ADVERTISEMENT (Source: Photosport) And the effect ripples to her whānau, she recalled the moment she had to break the news to her two children. "I wouldn't like to wish that on anybody. Just myself to be told, and then to actually tell the kids. "I was trying to hold myself to be strong, as we do as wāhine. So that was one of the hardest moments of my life. I wouldn't wish that." The rates of early onset colorectal cancer have risen by 26% per decade on average over the past 20 years, according to University of Otago researcher Dr Oliver Waddell. Researchers and Māori health practitioners have called for the age to be lowered to 45 as it was in many other countries. "If we had [earlier] screening, I most probably wouldn't be costing the country money. ADVERTISEMENT "That's how I'm looking at it. If I was able to get screened at a younger age, you just imagine how much money this government will be saving in health costs," Waaka said. Bowel cancer treatment costs depended on when it was found — stage 1 being the cheapest and stage 4 is the most expensive. For Waaka, her bowel cancer has got into her liver and aside from rounds of chemotherapy, the non-funded drug she needs comes at a cost of $30,000. To start her first round of treatment on August 11, she is having to fundraise to survive. But Waaka said it's a big ask to turn to the community for funds. (Source: Photosport) "Life is hard, people are struggling and for me, I feel like I'm taken from the whānau. "And everyone said, you know, you've given so much, it's our time, but deep inside you know everyone's struggling to survive out there, and I'm just so grateful that people are willing to help me to survive and for me to fight this fight... which I'm going to do." ADVERTISEMENT She wanted her off-the-field legacy to be remembered as much as her on-the-field career. "I'm never one to ask for help, but I'm always giving. So for me, my legacy will be that I've given everything that I can, and hope I've just left something that will remind people of me." By Mihingarangi Forbes of

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store