Warning: Indigenous persons are advised that the following article contains the name of a person who has died.
Māori rugby player and health advocate, Shane Christie, who pushed for research into the links between concussion and long-term brain injury has died at the age of 39.
Police confirmed they were called to the Nelson home of Christie on Wednesday morning, where he was found deceased.
His death will be referred to the coroner.
Christie played for the Highlanders in Super Rugby and represented New Zealand Māori.
In recent years he spoke publicly about his fears of living with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease connected to repeated head injuries.
The condition can only be confirmed after death.
Christie had pledged to donate his brain to researchers to help improve safety in rugby.
"Without brain donations we're not going to be able to identify how long it takes to get this disease," he said in a recent interview.
"It's important to help the research in New Zealand."
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Christie's advocacy was shaped by the loss of his close friend and teammate Billy Guyton, who died in 2023 and became the first New Zealand rugby player diagnosed with CTE.
Christie helped establish the Billy Guyton Foundation to raise awareness about concussion.
"Bill motivated me to have the courage to speak my mind about what I see," Christie said last year at a Foundation event.
During his playing career Christie suffered a number of concussions.
After retiring he spoke openly about ongoing symptoms, including headaches and memory lapses.
"It feels like a bruise in your head and when you're walking it hurts," he said.
"So when you're thinking it hurts, when you're trying to exercise the pressure hurts, and you're not as fast and can't think as quick.
In a statement, New Zealand Rugby paid tribute to his playing and coaching career.
"Any time the rugby community loses a member it is felt deeply," the statement read.
"Shane's passion for the game will be remembered always.
"Our thoughts are with Shane's whānau (family), friends, former teammates and community at this incredibly difficult time."
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