Paul Green dies aged 49

[Floodwaters]

Problem is AFL, soccer, RL, RU, NFL… all have a degree of head injury risk. Will be interesting times for all sports. Soccer is looking at banning the header (or have done in some places).

They will never ban the header in professional football, vital part of the game. There banning it in the juniors or looking to just as rugby league are thinking of banning tackling in the juniors.

 

[Chimp]

Soccer talking about banning heading at kids levels, RL looking at stopping tackling at kids levels. I’m no expert, but I’ve not seen any evidence that sport at child level is a massive contributing factor - i’d actually argue doing it a kids levels teaches them how to tackle/head a ball properly/safely. Seems like they’re making changes, without the science to back it up, just to be seen to be doing something.
The only way this can feasibly pan out, without sport being ruined, is that there is a line in the sand, and after that date, if you choose to be involved in the sport, you do so knowing the risks. It’s the only way.

 

[Philip_Smith007]

Bye bye contact sport.
CTE from head injury not concussion

 

[Smug Panther]

Bye bye contact sport.
CTE from head injury not concussion

Won't exist in 20 years

 

[The Predictor]

The game will not survive…sad but true

Won't exist in 20 years

 

[AlwaysGreen]

If boxing and MMA have survived contact sports will find a way too.

The NRL have been called pussies and soft by some dinosaurs whose brains were either muddled by alcohol or underdeveloped to begin with but the crackdown on anything near the head, concussion protocols etc is a good start.

Massive fines or deduction of points for clubs who try and find ways to circumvent protocols will stop them putting winning before people's lives.

 

[Philip_Smith007]

If boxing and MMA have survived contact sports will find a way too.

The NRL have been called pussies and soft by some dinosaurs whose brains were either muddled by alcohol or underdeveloped to begin with but the crackdown on anything near the head, concussion protocols etc is a good start.

Massive fines or deduction of points for clubs who try and find ways to circumvent protocols will stop them putting winning before people's lives.

I see a lineup preseason or clubs having to buy MRI machines to monitor players brains.

 

[Canard]

I see a lineup preseason or clubs having to buy MRI machines to monitor players brains.

I don't believe there is anyway to detect CTE without a brain autopsy.

 

[Canard]

Soccer talking about banning heading at kids levels, RL looking at stopping tackling at kids levels. I’m no expert, but I’ve not seen any evidence that sport at child level is a massive contributing factor - i’d actually argue doing it a kids levels teaches them how to tackle/head a ball properly/safely. Seems like they’re making changes, without the science to back it up, just to be seen to be doing something.
The only way this can feasibly pan out, without sport being ruined, is that there is a line in the sand, and after that date, if you choose to be involved in the sport, you do so knowing the risks. It’s the only way.

There is no legal framework in Australia that allows an employer to contract out all OHS risk to an employee or third party.

And for good reason.

 

[Philip_Smith007]

I don't believe there is anyway to detect CTE without a brain autopsy.

They are working on it.
https://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/2021/1...iving-approach-may-shave-years-off-diagnosis/

Just need something to light up tau protein.

 

[Wizardman]

Sad reading in the papers today relating to the death of Paul Green and the impacts from CTE which was deemed, "one of the most severe we've seen." The front page of the Daily Telegraph reads, "Experts say repeated head knocks damages his brain so much that was unable to resist his urges when he suicided in August." Just scary to read.

The case linked in this post will change the whole landscape of rugby league. It is not IF, but when, the game will be forced to rethink a lot of what has been accepted both in the past and today in my opinion. The pre-season will change. Training. Game-day protocols. Post-game protocols. Rugby league will continue - as will the NFL - though the game will be forced by legislators and legal-minds to change to mitigate risk to all stakeholders. It will not be long before a group of Australasian rugby league players launch their own legal action against the National Rugby League and associated bodies i.e. the NSWRL, QRL etc.

Up to 75 ex-rugby league stars 'to sue the RFL over brain injuries'

Bobbie Goulding is one of 75 rugby league stars who have suffered brain injuries as a consequence of playing the sport that are reportedly launching a legal case against the Rugby Football League.

www.dailymail.co.uk

You are spot on. There was a time when the game did not truly know about the long term effects of head knocks. That time has well and truly passed.
To this day, I still have some grave concerns about how our game at the top level handles head knocks. I still don't think the game does enough and the game could be well and truly liable if it does not pull up its socks in regard to concussion.
Souths have had a couple of players that could well come back to haunt them. It was pretty much obvious to the average person that Kyle Turner should not have been playing rugby league at any level due to the head injuries he was getting. Even a few months ago, Murray got a brutal head knock in the last game of the regular season. There is no way he would participate in mma and boxing the following week after such a knock. Murray actually did cop a head knock the week after where he was clearly scrambled from it. Im not saying Souths are the only club guilty of this but those two players are strong examples of a club and game not taking concussions as seriously as they should.

 

[Chimp]

There is no legal framework in Australia that allows an employer to contract out all OHS risk to an employee or third party.

And for good reason.

Absolutely get that, same in most ‘westernised’ countries. Sport should be treat differently to normal professions though - sport starts as a hobbie, a voluntary hobbie - the legal frameworks need to be changed to allow for sport at all levels to have a ‘disclaimer’ type sign up process. And whether you play amateur as a hobbie, or are lucky/good
enough to make it professional, that same disclaimer protects the sport. Enter at your own risk…. We now know, unequivocally, that multiple concussions/head knocks can and does cause damage to the brain, for sport to survive, the law has to allow the sport to ensure all potential participants are made aware of the very real risks, and then sign up if they wish to continue. It’s the only way.

 

[Munky]

Absolutely get that, same in most ‘westernised’ countries. Sport should be treat differently to normal professions though - sport starts as a hobbie, a voluntary hobbie - the legal frameworks need to be changed to allow for sport at all levels to have a ‘disclaimer’ type sign up process. And whether you play amateur as a hobbie, or are lucky/good
enough to make it professional, that same disclaimer protects the sport. Enter at your own risk…. We now know, unequivocally, that multiple concussions/head knocks can and does cause damage to the brain, for sport to survive, the law has to allow the sport to ensure all potential participants are made aware of the very real risks, and then sign up if they wish to continue. It’s the only way.

Should those who disclaim away recourse from head injury still get covered by the standard Medicare levy or Private Health insurance if they end up with dementia?

Who should pay for the long term health outcomes?

 

[Wizardman]

Absolutely get that, same in most ‘westernised’ countries. Sport should be treat differently to normal professions though - sport starts as a hobbie, a voluntary hobbie - the legal frameworks need to be changed to allow for sport at all levels to have a ‘disclaimer’ type sign up process. And whether you play amateur as a hobbie, or are lucky/good
enough to make it professional, that same disclaimer protects the sport. Enter at your own risk…. We now know, unequivocally, that multiple concussions/head knocks can and does cause damage to the brain, for sport to survive, the law has to allow the sport to ensure all potential participants are made aware of the very real risks, and then sign up if they wish to continue. It’s the only way.

Im okay with this on the proviso that the sport as a whole takes reasonable steps to protect the athlete from themselves. To me, the sport has not sufficiently taken these steps, hence the legal action that will follow. This is where the can of worms HAS and WILL come in....whether the sport did enough to protect the athletes from themselves.

 

[Chimp]

Im okay with this on the proviso that the sport as a whole takes reasonable steps to protect the athlete from themselves. To me, the sport has not sufficiently taken these steps, hence the legal action that will follow. This is where the can of worms HAS and WILL come in....whether the sport did enough to protect the athletes from themselves.

The ones with the issues presenting right now are from an era (80’s/90’s and earlier) when CTE and the potential long latency effects were not known - the sport shouldn’t be held accountable in my opinion for something they couldn’t reasonably foresee.
With regards future medical care, they should be treat the same as somebody who was in a car accident whilst speeding. Private medical insurance costs will of course sky rocket for contact sports, or they’ll just exclude cover for head/brain injuries.

 

[Wb1234]

Won't exist in 20 years

Of course it will

court cases will determine a precedent then the sport will adapt to any judgement

the nrl has been way ahead of the curve in getting rid of the shoulder charge and now the hia protocols

but a class action law suit inevitable it’s an ambulance chasing society

 

[Wizardman]

The ones with the issues presenting right now are from an era (80’s/90’s and earlier) when CTE and the potential long latency effects were not known - the sport shouldn’t be held accountable in my opinion for something they couldn’t reasonably foresee.
With regards future medical care, they should be treat the same as somebody who was in a car accident whilst speeding. Private medical insurance costs will of course sky rocket for contact sports, or they’ll just exclude cover for head/brain injuries.

I agree that the sport should not be held accountable for eras where the effects of CTE were not known. The problem is, the game has still not done quite enough since this knowledge has been well known. The efforts have been pretty much band-aid type stuff.

 

[Wizardman]

Of course it will

court cases will determine a precedent then the sport will adapt to any judgement

the nrl has been way ahead of the curve in getting rid of the shoulder charge and now the hia protocols

but a class action law suit inevitable it’s an ambulance chasing society

Absolutely agree......the sport will experience further changes but the sport will still go on. People have said boxing will die as a sport.......no chance!

 

[Wb1234]

Absolutely agree......the sport will experience further changes but the sport will still go on. People have said boxing will die as a sport.......no chance!

Sports like union are going to have to face radical change with the elimination of competition scrums

afl is safe since it’s such a soft sport

 

[Chimp]

Absolutely agree......the sport will experience further changes but the sport will still go on. People have said boxing will die as a sport.......no chance!

I wonder if there might be a ‘breakaway’ sport/organisation created - a Super League version 2 almost, as a way to create that new line in the sand in terms of ‘accepted and known risk’, and also to protect against mass law suits. If the NRL, NSWRL and QRL are no more, and a ‘new version of RL’ is created under a new company and administration, they would surely have no liabilities for previous versions/administrations of the game.
it’s a long stretch, but might be what’s needed for the sport to survive.