Health
Former rugby star Wally Lewis urges Australian government to fund CTE support services
- Wally Lewis has urged the Australian government to fund support services and education about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).
- Lewis, a rugby player from the 1980s, made an appeal on behalf of the Concussion and CTE Coalition for millions of dollars in funding.
- Lewis revealed that he is living with probable CTE, a type of dementia linked to repeated concussive and sub-concussive blows to the head.
A legendary rugby player has cited the fear and anxiety that has come into his life among the reasons for urging the Australian government to fund support services and education about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Wally Lewis, dubbed “The King” when he played rugby league for Queensland state and Australia in the 1980s, made an appeal on behalf of the Concussion and CTE Coalition for millions of dollars in funding during a National Press Club address Tuesday.
The 64-year-old Lewis said he’s living with probable CTE, which he described as a type of dementia associated with repeated concussive and sub-concussive blows to the head.
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Lewis, who worked for decades as a television sports anchor after retiring as a player in the early 1990s, relayed his own experience to get his message across.
Former Australian rugby league player Wally Lewis, addresses the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia, on April 23, 2024. Lewis, a legendary rugby player of the 1980s has cited the fear and anxiety that has come into his life among the reason for urging the Australian government to fund support services and education about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP)
“The fear is real. I don’t want anyone to have to live with the fear and anxiety that I live with every day, worried about what I’ve forgotten … the fear of what my future will look like,” Lewis said. “And living with the constant fear and anxiety that I’ll let people down – the people who all my life have been able to rely on me and looked to me for my strength and leadership.”
Lewis led Australia’s Kangaroos in 24 international matches, was among the original players to popularize the annual State-of-Origin series, and was included in Australia’s Rugby League Team of the Century in 2008.
The National Rugby League has honored him as a so-called “Immortal” of the game.
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Yet his memories of it aren’t clear. He started playing rugby league as a young boy and also played rugby union at an elite level before embarking on a professional career in rugby league.
“It’s a journey marked by the twin shadows of fear and embarrassment, a journey through the fog of dementia and the erosion of my memory,” he said. “I once had the confidence in myself to succeed, lead a team to victory, captain my country, remember the strengths and weaknesses of opposition teams, organize myself each and every day and feel well and truly in control of my life.
“Now, much of that confidence has been taken away from me by the effects of probable CTE dementia.”
Lewis said better community awareness on concussion was needed and prevention programs, including a sharper focus on tackling techniques from young players through to professionals.
Awareness of CTE and concussion has grown since players in contact football sports, including the National Football League in the United States and rugby union in Britain, launched concussion lawsuits.
The Rugby World Cup took place last year against the backdrop of a concussion lawsuit in Britain that had similarities to one settled by the NFL in 2013 at a likely cost of more than $1 billion.
CTE, a degenerative brain disease known to cause violent moods, depression, dementia and other cognitive difficulties, can only be diagnosed posthumously. It has been linked to repeated hits to the head endured by football, rugby and hockey players, boxers and members of the military.
“As Wally Lewis I have influence – I have a platform – and I intend to use it at every opportunity to bring about change for all Australians like me who are impacted by CTE,” Lewis said, “and to do whatever I can to protect the brains of Australian children from CTE.”
Health
Cruise ship linked to deadly Hantavirus outbreak arrives off Tenerife as passenger evacuation begins
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The cruise ship linked to a deadly Hantavirus outbreak arrived early Sunday off the Spanish island of Tenerife, where passengers began to evacuate and fly to their home countries.
Passengers are being tested by Spanish health authorities to ensure they are asymptomatic before being transported ashore in small boats, Spanish officials said, according to Reuters.
Spanish health authorities confirmed that the first plane carrying the Spanish passengers has departed for a military hospital in Madrid, where they will be under quarantine.
The 17 Americans aboard the MV Hondius will be flown to a medical center in Nebraska after health officials allow them to disembark.
AMERICANS TO BE EVACUATED FROM HANTAVIRUS CRUISE SHIP AS GLOBAL HEALTH CHIEF TRAVELS TO QUARANTINE ISLAND
The cruise ship MV Hondius arrives at the port of Granadilla de Abona after being affected by a Hantavirus outbreak, in Tenerife, Spain, May 10, 2026. (REUTERS/Hannah McKay)
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) official told ABC News on Saturday morning that federal officials currently do not plan to mandate quarantine when the American passengers arrive in Nebraska.
They will instead be screened upon arrival in the U.S. and either stay briefly at Nebraska’s National Quarantine Unit or return home to monitor for symptoms for 42 days while staying in contact with local health authorities, the official said.
The ship set course for Spain on Wednesday from the coast of Cape Verde after the WHO and European Union requested assistance in managing the outbreak.
The ship’s arrival comes hours after World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived on the island.
The WHO said Friday that eight people aboard the ship had fallen ill, including three who died. Six cases have been confirmed, with two others suspected.
HANTAVIRUS DEATHS ON CRUISE SHIP HIGHLIGHT DANGERS OF RODENT-BORNE DISEASE
A cruise ship linked to a Hantavirus outbreak anchored near the Spanish island of Tenerife ahead of a planned evacuation. (REUTERS/Hannah McKay)
In a statement Saturday, Ghebreyesus said the public health risk remains low.
“I know you are worried. I know that when you hear the word ‘outbreak’ and watch a ship sail toward your shores, memories surface that none of us have fully put to rest,” he said.
“The pain of 2020 is still real, and I do not dismiss it for a single moment. But I need you to hear me clearly: this is not another COVID-19. The current public health risk from Hantavirus remains low. My colleagues and I have said this unequivocally, and I will say it again to you now,” he continued.
ARGENTINA INVESTIGATORS ZERO IN ON POSSIBLE ORIGIN POINT OF HANTAVIRUS IN DEADLY CRUISE OUTBREAK
A police boat operates next to the cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla de Abona after being affected by a hantavirus outbreak, in Tenerife, Spain, May 10, 2026. (REUTERS/Hannah McKay)
Ghebreyesus noted that the virus identified aboard the ship is the Andes strain of hantavirus, which can be severe.
“Three people have lost their lives, and our hearts go out to their families,” he wrote, reiterating that the public health risk posed by the virus remained low.
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An ambulance evacuates patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship to the airport in Praia, Cape Verde, on May 6, 2026. (Misper Apawu/AP)
About 30 crew members are expected to remain on board as the vessel continues to the Netherlands, where it will be disinfected.
Fox News Digital’s Robert McGreevy, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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FIRST ON FOX: Eating healthy doesn’t have to be complicated, according to celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, the restaurateur and owner of New York City’s new Bar Rocco – whose philosophy and cookbooks are rooted in health-conscious dieting – shared a few misconceptions about healthy eating, especially when the end goal is weight loss.
“There is no one fix, there’s no one cure for everyone,” he said. “Everyone has different needs and their weight-loss journey is going to be different. So, you really have to figure out what your problem is.”
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This could be a body composition imbalance, a lack of exercise or a generally poor diet, DiSpirito mentioned. “Figure out what will help you address those issues most quickly,” he advised.
Rocco DiSpirito recently opened Bar Rocco in New York City. The Rockefeller Center location offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. (Eric Medsker)
“Even if you’re working out, unless you’re LeBron James and burning 8,000 calories a game, there’s no way to out-train a bad diet, so at some point in our lives, we have to come to a reckoning with what we consume.”
DiSpirito says it’s “always a good idea” to start with the basics, including consuming less sugar, less alcohol, fewer processed foods and fewer processed carbs, as well as eating more protein.
DOCTOR REVEALS SECRETS TO LASTING WEIGHT LOSS WITHOUT COUNTING CALORIES
The chef revealed that the No. 1 issue he’s witnessed is that people have “no idea how many calories they’re consuming.”
“We’re all consuming two to three times more than we realize,” he noted. “And even when we count and use the apps, there’s a lot of fuzzy math going on.”
“So, getting a handle on how much you’re consuming, even the little picking that you do while you’re cooking and cleaning, all that counts and adds up quickly.”
SIMPLE WEIGHT-LOSS QUIZ MAY PINPOINT WHY SOME DIETS FAIL — AND HOW TO BOOST SUCCESS
As the healthy eating movement gains traction, DiSpirito called it “very important” for most of the U.S., as the country faces an “obesity issue.”
“Restaurants are definitely thinking about it as well,” he said. “[But] I wouldn’t say restaurants are making it their [top] priority.”
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“We still have a lot of work to do just getting people in and seated and fed and their checks to them when they want. But there are some restaurants that are focused on it.”
As the healthy eating movement gains traction, DiSpirito called it “very important” for most of the U.S., as the country faces an “obesity issue.” (iStock)
Privately, DiSpirito said he has focused on providing healthy meal plans for clients.
“But for restaurants to approach healthy eating is a little difficult, because it’s a whole different kind of cooking and a [different] kind of energy,” he said.
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“Healthy eating isn’t fun – so to bring that into a fun atmosphere is kind of difficult. It’s difficult to mix the two.”
This crossroads between indulgence and health may be a tricky mix, especially among the food supply in America, DiSpirito acknowledged – but the two align more easily in other countries where the food is not tampered with, he added.
Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito says other countries, like Italy, “don’t allow a lot of messing around with food that we allow in the United States.” (Jonathan Pushnik)
“If you go to Italy, for example, and just eat everything they eat, it feels indulgent … and it’s also very healthy,” he said. “And the key is the food supply is still natural. It’s still organic.”
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
“There aren’t lots of sprayed food [or] sprayed vegetables in Italy,” DiSpirito went on. “They don’t allow a lot of messing around with food that we allow in the United States, the GMO-ing, the modifying.”
“So healthy and indulgent are not mutually exclusive, but in [our] food supply system … it’s very difficult.”
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