AFL legend Warwick Capper denies exposing himself in lewd performance that shocked audience as brain injury fears intensify

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

AFL cult hero Warwick Capper has denied claims he exposed himself during a controversial performance at a recent sportsman's night, amid growing concerns about his health.
The 61-year-old former Sydney Swans star appeared at the Altona Sports Club earlier this month, where he allegedly simulated crude acts and made bizarre statements on stage.
Capper, famed for his tight shorts and flamboyant persona in the 1980s, was accused by patrons of acting inappropriately, including simulating oral sex as a worker attempted to help him with his phone.
Witnesses claimed he also boasted of drug use and made lewd remarks about the event organiser's wife. Some audience members were visibly uncomfortable with his behaviour.
Despite the backlash, Capper strongly denies that he exposed himself.
'I play too much into the 'Warwick Capper' persona to make people happy and have a laugh and I probably shouldn't,' he said in a statement following the event.
The venue's owner, Dennis Ryan, expressed deep concern over Capper's wellbeing.
'I don't think he's well. I just don't think he's well. I think he's had too many smacks in the head. We had a meeting about it afterwards. I'm a bit concerned for Warwick,' Ryan told News Corp.
Capper has recently spoken about the toll of concussion symptoms stemming from his football career.
He joins a growing list of former AFL players facing cognitive and behavioural issues believed to be linked to repeated head knocks.
It comes after Capper's partner Lisa Arocca shared the moment that made the couple realise the former Swans star was having serious issues with his memory. The pair were in an Uber on the Gold Coast when the driver asked who they were visiting.
Capper replied, 'My son, Indiana.' Then the driver asked where Indiana lived. Capper paused, looked at Arocca and said, 'I can't remember.'
In that moment, the man once known as 'The Wiz' realised something was wrong.
'Maybe I have got a problem,' he told her.
For Arocca, it was devastating. 'This was bad because one thing Warwick had was a strong memory. He remembered everything,' she told News Corp.
Now, Capper forgets names, repeats stories and at times can't follow his own train of thought.
'I can still remember most of the games. But sometimes I forget people's names,' he said.
Capper has been through it all. football fame, nightclub tours and even ventures into politics and adult film.
But now, the repeated stories and blank expressions suggest something far more serious than ageing.
'I started going downhill a bit I think about seven or eight years ago. I'm just not quite as switched on' he said.
He now keeps notes in his phone to track each day.
'I write my whole day now, in my phone, so I don't forget,' Capper said.
His speech is often disjointed. His behaviour has at times become erratic. And Capper was recently banned from AFL venues for six months for being 'rude to a girl' at the MCG.
Capper, who is displaying the worrying symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), speaks openly of head knocks.
'I got knocked right out. Didn't know where I f***ing' was though,' he said.
He reflects on the times when players were told to 'just give it a rub' and keep going.
He's not alone. Capper lists friends like John Barnes, Greg Williams, and John Platten who are also suffering.
'He's the worst I've seen, he thinks he's Ron Barassi' he says of Platten.
Capper tells those same stories repeatedly, often forgetting he's just told them.
Despite undergoing cognitive tests through the AFL's concussion program, Capper says he was informally told his results were 'pretty bad.'
But there's been no official diagnosis, no follow-up. 'Not great,' the examiner had said.
Arocca notices the changes every day. She once asked him to leave bags of clothing in the hall to donate.
An hour later, Capper threw them all in the bin. 'He had a blank look on his face,' she said. 'In spurts he is fine, and then he isn't.'
Though many see his outlandish public persona, Arocca sees the gentle man behind it.
'He has a heart of gold,' she said.
'But I know he doesn't want to admit all this. It's really sad.'
Capper is now on the path to becoming a grandfather. But the road to reconciliation with son Indiana has been rough.
The pair once had a falling out, with Indiana accusing him of being 'a disgrace.' But today, they're back in touch.
Capper's longtime manager, Peter Jess, is furious at how the AFL has treated him.
'They should have wrapped their arms around him and got him proper treatment,' Jess said.
'They're just waiting for these guys to fall off the perch.'
Jess believes Capper's behaviour is a sign of frontal lobe damage. He's pushing for the AFL to fund an $8000 MEG scan for Capper.
'This is not the real Warwick,' he said. 'It's f***ing frightening.'
Capper, meanwhile, isn't complaining about his decline just yet.
'I'm not in a wheelchair yet,' he said. He still works the pub circuit, still tells his stories, still flashes that same blond-haired bravado. But the sparkle is dimmer now.