Advertisement

Footballers died after using ice during games

Report says player used drug at half-time.

Report says player used drug at half-time. Photo: ABC

A coroner’s investigation has found a Tasmanian footballer used the drug ice so he could play while injured, before later dying.

Another man, playing for the same amateur AFL club 15 months later, died after he injected ice after leaving the ground due to injury.

Investigations by coroner Olivia McTaggart into the deaths of Tyler John Broomhall, 23, and Paul Marcus White, 42, found both died because of conditions exacerbated by ice, also known as methylamphetamine.

The coroner said on April 13, 2013 Mr Broomhall — playing for northern Tasmanian club Wilmot — “received a heavy knock during the first half of the game” which fractured a rib.

The report said it was known Mr Broomhall had used the drug at half-time “to assist with keeping him on the ground”, with a blood test later confirming its presence.

meth use death

Broomhall’s death was due to “intra-cerebral haemorrhage following meth use”. Photo: ABC

The coroner said Mr Broomhall was taken by ambulance to North West Regional Hospital that night, with doctors diagnosing “acute myocardial injury (heart muscle injury)”.

He was treated with aspirin, “a standard treatment for a myocardial infarction,” the coroner noted.

“Over a period of two hours he returned to his normal self and insisted on discharge.”

Mr Broomhall suffered a head injury at work

However Mr Broomhall was taken to a different hospital later that night and eventually transferred to Royal Hobart Hospital, where he died a week later.

An autopsy found Mr Broomhall’s death was due to “intra-cerebral haemorrhage following methylamphetamine use”.

The coroner noted that about four to six weeks before his death, Mr Broomhall suffered a “minor head injury” while working as a factory hand, which he did not report.

“In the weeks leading up to his hospitalisation and death it would appear that this injury caused Mr Broomhall to become forgetful, emotional, and lethargic and to lose motivation. He was described as ‘not being himself’. He did not seek medical attention for these symptoms.

“It would appear that his use of cannabis, and possibly methylamphetamine, exacerbated the effects of the head injury, giving him severe headaches.”

The effects of this injury were “significantly worsened by his ingestion of methylamphetamine during a period of physical exertion,” the coroner said.

ice use

Coroner warns of dangers when ice use is followed by exercise. Photo: AAP

“The worsening of his condition, being increased haemorrhage, led to his tragic death.”

Players found teammate unconscious in change rooms

In the second case, the coroner found White had come to watch the match between Railton and Wilmot football clubs on Saturday June 21, 2014, but had then chosen to play for Wilmot.

“During the second quarter it appears that he may have received a knock while over the ball.

Mr White then complained to the trainer of a hamstring strain. He was told to go to the change rooms to rest and take no further part in the game,” the coroner said.

When the Wilmot players returned to the change rooms at half-time about twenty minutes later, they found Mr White collapsed in a shower cubicle.

Wilmot club staff performed resuscitation on Mr White until paramedics took over but he could not be revived.

An autopsy found Mr White’s cause of death to be “heart disease and methylamphetamine intoxication”.

Ms McTaggart said the two deaths showed the “dangers of the consumption of methylamphetamine generally and, more particularly, whilst playing sport or after exertion”.

“I hope that publication of these findings will emphasise the tragic consequences and significant harm that results from its use,” she said.

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.