Former Great Britain international Josh Jones has explained his involvement in the lawsuit against rugby league, revealing that he has CTE as a result of playing the sport.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative brain condition that occurs after repeated head injuries. There is no cure for it but symptoms can be treated, with Jones explaining that is something he is trying to do.
It should also be noted that CTE cannot be definitively diagnosed until death as diagnosis requires examination of brain tissue under a microscope, though Jones revealed in 2024 that he had been diagnosed with stage 2 CTE.
He has now given his first interview since that revelation, speaking to the BBC about his condition, whilst also explaining the reasons for his involvement in the lawsuit against both rugby league and rugby union.
Having retired in 2023 due to concussion-related injuries, Jones has told all and even revealed that he contemplated suicide on the eve of one Super League season, stating: “I felt like a burden to my family”.
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Josh Jones reveals struggles after concussion-enforced retirement
Talking about his symptoms and how he began to notice them, Jones said: “I noticed that if I was doing simple tasks, like making my children a bottle of water, trying to pour it and trying to steady my hand, putting a card in the card machine, putting the keys in the door, I just couldn’t stop my shaking.
“That’s when things progressively started to get worse; headaches, brain fog, neck pain, eye pain… I’m sensitive to light and to noise, anxiety, depression.”
He went on to add that he would ‘never’ let his children play rugby league, with Jones going on to explain that he felt the governing body for the sport, the Rugby Football League, didn’t take enough measures to prevent such injuries.
Jones said: “What the governing body was providing for us as players wasn’t, in my opinion, good enough, because there’s so many players told there’s nothing wrong with them.
“I think there needs to be an independent regulatory body for brain health, not just in rugby league, but throughout sport.
“My neurologist has said I’m at high risk now of further problems. It scares the life out of me what I put my body through and what’s to come.”
Rugby Football League ‘failed to protect its players’, claims Jones
Speaking further on his involvement in the lawsuit that is being headed up by Rylands Garth, Jones said: “I’ve seen a lot of fans questioning the integrity of players, and saying that they knew the risks.
“I knew I’d have sore shoulders, a bad back, sore knees, maybe arthritis, those sort of physical things. I never knew that I would be left like this – and be living with this neurological damage that the game’s given me.
“For me, it’s not the game, it’s the governance of the game that’s the problem. And to add insult to injury, to be abandoned from the sport – it’s not right. The governing body has failed to protect its players, and something needs to be done.”
For Jones now, it’s about trying to slow down symptoms and that’s seen him speak to neurologists with his risk for dementia and other diseases now heightened.
“I’m speaking to neurologists over there who have got a different approach, who are recommended by other players who are going through this.
“Being proactive in trying to slow that transition down, because early-onset dementia, that’s a very realistic possibility for me. So is Parkinson’s and epilepsy.
“We’re just trying to find some help. It has been the hardest time of our lives.”
A statement from the Rugby Football League was included in the BBC article, claiming that the ‘sport has never been safer’.
That statement read:”Rugby League as a sport invests significantly into scientific research, and continues to evolve its approach to help best prevent and manage concussion injuries.
“As such the sport has never been safer in this regard. The RFL has developed a clear action plan including a target to reduce concussions across the sport by 30% and is on track to meet these targets.”
It was also confirmed that a Brain Health Fund had been established, which to date has provided support to more than 40 players and their families. Moreover, the governing body have today confirmed new technology will be utilised in mouthguards to help assess the level of force players undergo when tackled.
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