Former NRL veteran and Kiwis representative Kevin Proctor suffered a serious head injury and apparent seizure after a collision during a “run it straight” final in Dubai. Photo / Kick
Former NRL veteran and Kiwis representative Kevin Proctor suffered a serious head injury and apparent seizure after a collision during a “run it straight” final in Dubai. Photo / Kick
A former Kiwis rugby league player who suffered a serious head injury and apparent seizure in a controversial “run it straight” final has backed the organisation, saying he was “grateful” to be part of it.
Kevin Proctor, who played 283 NRL games and represented the Kiwis on 22 occasions, tookpart in an exhibition match against Australian social media influencer Jordan Sim at the Runit Championship League’s Middle East event on Sunday morning (NZ time).
A livestream of the event showed Proctor, who was tackling, drive his right shoulder into Simi’s chest as the pair ran full speed at each other.
Proctor was thrown into the air from the force of the collision and fell heavily on his side before his legs started involuntarily twitching and his arms went stiff.
Officials and one medical personnel rushed to check on Proctor, who was helped to his feet and led out of the Dubai venue.
Kevin Proctor was thrown into the air from the force of the collision with his opponent in Dubai. Photo / Kick
Professor Patria Hume, sports scientist and injury prevention expert at Auckland University of Technology, told the Herald that Proctor was “immediately concussed before he hit the ground”.
“The brain damage caused seizure of the arms and legs. This was a serious head injury,” Hume said.
But the former NRL Premiership-winning Melbourne Storm and Gold Coast Titans second-rower took to social media on Monday, saying he was “all good” and that the sport had a big future ahead.
“We all know what we sign up for getting in there. It’s a contact sport and, unfortunately, I put my head in the wrong place and came out second best,” the 36-year-old said.
“Ya win some, ya lose some but no hard feelings... It is what it is. I got in there had a crack at least.
“Still grateful to be apart [sic] of it and I’m sure you guys [Runit Championship League] are only going to get bigger n bigger. Congrats to all the winners and organisation for putting on a great event.”
Proctor accompanied the post with a photo of him and Simi together on a plane and said he was on his way home to see his partner, children and family.
“We have warned of the high-impact forces and risk of severe injury. This is another example of severe brain injury in this run it straight event,” Hume said.
“Being an elite or retired elite player does not protect them from brain damage in these high-impact contacts.”
Kevin Proctor, who was helped to his feet and led out of Dubai venue The Agenda after his exhibition match, appeared dazed when standing. Photo / Kick
Proctor was sacked by NRL club Gold Coast Titans in 2023 after posting a social media video of himself vaping in a changing-room cubicle at halftime while his side was losing. He was their captain at the time but was not playing because of an injury.
The one-off exhibition was part of the Australian-based Runit Championship League’s final in Dubai. The organisation held two trial events at Trusts Arena in West Auckland last month, with the winners taking home $20,000 cash prizes – but the venue pulled out of hosting the final, citing safety concerns.
It was shifted to the Middle East and held on Saturday night (local time), with eight competitors running full tilt at each other for prizes of A$200,000 ($216,000), A$50,000 and A$25,000 on offer for first, second and third respectively.
The organisation paid for flights and accommodation for the finalists.
Proctor and Simi were not included in the eight-man competition for the cash prizes.
Two other competitors displaying concussion symptoms were forced to retire from the event after bone-rattling collisions.
Before the final, a group of trauma clinicians made a last-ditch plea to ban the sport, calling its continued promotion “medically indefensible and ethically unjustifiable”.
