Shock mental health discovery for footy cult hero who died aged just 53 after fighting homelessness and alcoholism when he retired

The family of diminutive but tough NRL great Kyle 'Killer' White hope his legacy will help save the lives of other football stars after the fearless star lost his battle with a deadly brain condition earlier this year.

Before rugby league instituted strict measures against kamikaze tackles and high shots, White was earning a reputation as one of the biggest hitters in the game with his fearless approach to contact. 

White continued his fearless style of play for years, spanning a decade-long top-grade career with stints at Western Suburbs, Illawarra, and later, Widnes and Workington Town in England. 

Unfortunately, nine months after his death at just 53, it has been revealed that White suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

White's CTE diagnosis, made by the Australian Sports Brain Bank (ASBB) after an autopsy, aligns him with other former rugby league stars like Steve Folkes, Peter Moscatt, and Paul Green, who have all been diagnosed with the condition. 

Despite the coroner attributing White's death to a heart attack, his fiancee Melanie Sullivan agreed to donate his brain for research after an inquiry from the ASBB.

'He had severe CTE. It was stage three out of four. It was not dissimilar to what we found in Steve Folkes,' Professor Michael Buckland from the ASBB said.

'He had low-level Alzheimer's disease as well, and there's good evidence if you have CTE it accelerates all these other degenerative conditions.'

Away from the field, White pursued his passion for music, releasing songs and even venturing to the country music mecca of Nashville, Tennessee to enhance his songwriting skills. 

However, his mental health deteriorated unknowingly as he lived with CTE, leading to alcoholism, brief homelessness, and imprisonment for domestic violence.

'Music made him happy,' Sullivan shared. 

'His kids made him happy. I made him happy. The dogs made him happy.' 

But as his mental health declined, White became less talkative about his playing days, even though he had been proud to share those memories with his son Levi.

In his final months, White engaged in acts of kindness, helping the homeless in the Penrith area with Sullivan. 

Despite his struggles, those close to him remember him as a good person who tried to make a positive impact on others.

His family is determined to carry on his legacy by raising awareness about the signs of living with someone potentially suffering from CTE. 

'He really did have a wonderful last couple of years,' Tyndall says. 'There was no indication he was living an unhappy life. He seemed quite content and building himself back up again.

'But we want people to understand the implications. How can you see if your dad, uncle or brother is dealing with CTE? How do we get them to scale back? We worry it's only going to get worse in 20 or 30 years.

'Dad is not the first case of CTE. This is Michael's whole mission and his work. I hope they encourage people as much as they can to protect themselves because we only have one body.'

Soon after debuting for the Bulldogs in 1990, White became famous with footy fans by smashing Canberra Raiders legend Dean Lance in a game at Belmore. 

'That's one of the biggest hits I've ever seen on a football paddock. Have a look at the truck that just hit him,' exclaimed the commentator at the time as he referred to White. 

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