The Avenger wrote:
While I'm not dismissing the effects of repeated concussions, the cases of individuals who've suffered the type of long term condition shown in the programme are few and very far between.
I've been involved in Rugby League all my life, I myself have played at many different levels and know hundreds of friends who've played international, SL, NRL and amateur. I would struggle to name 4 or 5 that have any type of mental condition and it is debatable whether it was caused by Rugby League.
The issues are very real for those individuals who do suffer reactions to being concussed, so I'm not diminishing those cases.
However
The programme makers, sports scientists and doctors are doing what they always do and sensationalising their work with over the top reactions.
How does football escape this argument, the number of times you see a clash of heads in football is greater than either Rugby code. The damage caused by repeated heading of the ball must be more significant than that of the whiplash effect of collisions in Rugby. I for one would not want to get my head under a ball that's been launched 70 metres downfield by the opposition Goalkeeper.
Boxing, I love the sport but come on..
If we're having a discussion about the effects of concussion on sportsmen and women then it has to start with Boxing, UFC etc.
As someone said earlier this smacks of a smug BBC journalist trying to make a name for themselves by timing this oversensationalised programme with the start of ITVs Rugby World Cup.
Excellent post, I've dug into risk analysis in sport a fair bit and as part of my job did risk assessment for our company. I've always banged the drum against the misguided masses and how they misunderstand risk and how to avoid the issues that come up not by throwing a guard/helmet around something or a hi-vis vest but through behavioural/procedural & general environment change. The former actually increases incidents.
My particular personal beef with regard to risk are the lying/fact bending/sensationalising protagonists for cycle helmets, they usually have an agenda (Steve 'crackhead' Cracknell represents one of the big helmet manufacturers and always bangs on about how his helmet saved his life
) or simply aren't interested in facts either with head injuries or the efficacy of helmets, or rather their the lack thereof!
As you say RL is pretty low down in the head injury stakes even more so given that it is a full contact sport, that in part is to what we are taught as kids and how to play, we all know it fecking hurts to get your head in the wrong place in a tackle and endeavor not to repeat it, even the best make mistakes, just ask James Roby!
Yes getting hit by a swinging/stiff arm, elbow or the occasional accidental knee will happen and can have concussive effects which need looking at (banning the shoulder charge wasn't the solution IMHO) but there are far worse activities in life that need looking at first before you even get to things like boxing!
Walking for instance has roughly the same instance/rate of head injuries as there are for cyclists in the UK (it's actually slightly higher), but I've yet to see any (serious) calls for helmet wearing whilst walking, similarly driving a car, many thousands of head/neck injuries and hundreds of lives might be saved if motorvehicle drivers wore helmets (& neck braces) even for a trip to the supermarket. The truth is though that head injuries go up with helmet wearing (or safety aids in general) due to several factors the main one being risk compensation. It's pretty much the main reason that the ABA removed head gear from boxing due to the increase in concussions comparative to non headgear wearing (though cuts went up long term that is by far a better outcome)
It's the main reason why the NFL are now having to deal with the situation regarding suicides, dementia and other mental health problems due to the nature of the sport and the added protection which ironically were only introduced to stop deaths from happening.
In my opinion, RL has it about right, bring back the shoulder charge BUT penalising high shots has to have much more of a punishment not just to the club but to the individual as well.
