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CONCUSSION
REARS ITS UGLY
HEAD AGAIN
C
oncussion has become a big issue – perhaps THE
big issue in sport. Everyone is talking about it,
the media have regular news stories focusing
on players suffering with it, and lawyers are making
a killing from it. It is almost as though this is a
new phenomenon…. some recently discovered major
health issue that has only just been announced to
the public. The Sports Legacy Institute in the USA is
even announcing on its website that it is ‘solving the
concussion crisis’ !
The focus on concussion has largely been driven by the stark
realisation that the cost of not doing something is much
higher than the cost of trying to reduce the risk. Billion dollar
lawsuits tend to have that ef fect. But the real cost is to those
players who suf fer the long-term ef fects of concussion, so it
is important we explore ways in which to minimise the risks
whilst also making sure that in doing so we do not change the
rules of the sport so signif icantly that it becomes completely
anodyne or something entirely dif ferent from what it is
meant to be.
It is therefore refreshing to hear a good piece of news from
the US judiciary for once when a judge dismissed a lawsuit
by soccer players and parents seeking to force FIFA and
other governing bodies to change the sport ’s rules, including
limiting the number of headers allowed, in order to reduce
the risk of concussions and other head injuries. In a recent
decision, Chief Judge Phyllis Hamilton of the federal court
in Oakland, California, said the plaintif fs could not use the
courts to change FIFA’s “laws of the game,” noting it was their
decision to play soccer.
“Plaintif fs have acknowledged that ‘ injuries’ are a ‘part of
soccer ’ ” Hamilton wrote, citing the complaint. “Those who
participate in a sporting activity that poses an inherent risk
of injury generally assume the risk that they may be injured
while doing so.”
According to the evidence submitted, 46,200 U.S. high school
soccer players suf fered concussions in 2010, more than from
baseball, basketball, sof tball and wrestling combined and
at least 30% of soccer concussions come from heading or
attempting to head balls. But only one of the seven plaintif fs
claimed she suf fered a concussion from playing soccer, and
Hamilton said this appeared to be a one-time injury that
ended with a full recovery.
Concussion injuries from sport have been around since
sport began. Many sports are associated with a high risk of
concussion – boxing, rugby, ice hockey, American football….,
the list goes on. Pretty much any contact sport, as well as
many non-contact sports, such as gymnastics and even
cheerleading, present a higher risk of concussion.
Medical science may have provided us with better insight
into the ef fects of concussion and the potential long-term
health consequences of it, but still the debate continues on
the best way to try to minimise the risk.
American football is one sport that has taken a number of
steps to try to minimise the risk of concussion in a sport
where it is almost regarded as part of the game. A raf t of
rule changes have been introduced over the past few years.
Kick-of fs were moved further up the f ield to reduce the
number of high-speed impacts and helmet-f irst tackles have
been banned. More protection has also been given to players
unable to protect themselves, such as quarterbacks in the
act of throwing.
EDITOR’S
NOTE
STEVE BOUCHER
2
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ISSUE 21 | AUGUST 2015