Isnt the NFL being sued by former players?
Heh, good luck winning that, even in the USA.
First, this is not America.
Second, it is my understanding that in the USA, the NFL is being sued for not telling the players and/or deliberately witholding the fact that concussions and repeated head injuries are dangerous. Are you suggesting that has happened by the NRL? Are you suggesting that Australians are currently not aware that repeated head injuries is a bad thing long term? If they are aware, then they have consented to the game and the physical contact. If a player deliberately or recklessly does a tackle incorrectly, then sue the player eg McCracken v Kearney.
Why doesn't Muhammad Ali sue the WBA and WBO?
NFL professional athletes consent to a physical contact sport for big money, and then years later sue the governing body because they didn't know that being concussed repeatedly could cause mental harm? Seriously? I'd be far more sympathetic to their cause if they sued the team doctors and coaches that told them they were fit when they weren't, or worse; pressured them, to continue playing despite the associated risks for the player.
The legal world outside the USA is not a Boston Legal episode.
Can you imagine the ramifications for sports if such a suit were successful in Australia? Can you imagine the courts opening the floodgates that far? I cannot. Certainly not for permitting shoulder charges in the rules, nor cricket for permitting bouncers, nor boxing for permitting head punches, and there is nothing to suggest that the NRL has witheld information to the players that repeated head injuries are dangerous, as is the alleged suit in the USA.
If the NRL is really concerned, they could bring in safety regulations which the NFL did not and is being sued in part for, that is, if a player is concussed, maybe he should have to leave the field of play and not return, maybe even stand down for a week or two. The player consents to play the game, the coaches, trainers and doctors are more involved with regards players safety than the governing bodies.
I'd happily act for either party, but I think a claim against the NRL for permitting shoulder charges in the rules, would be completely and utterly laughed out of court. Even in the USA, the claim is that the NFL knew head injuries were dangerous and did not tell the players and actually mislead the players, let alone bring in safety regulations on/off the field for dealing with players with head injuries. From what I have read, it is not about the rules of the physical nature of the game itself. If that becomes part of the suit, what the heck happens to boxing?
