Let's list the things Rugby is as bad as.

[Line6 HXFX]

So let's get this straight, the sport we all watch (apart from me) may have to pay out 300 million? I am not saying they don't deserve it, they do 100%.

My question is what other area of human endeavour, area of life do the participants abd victims get compensated to this degree?
What sufferring can we compare this too, to then appreciate the absolute abomination that rugby is, to the human body and the human spirit, and to the people watching.

This compensation level is right up there with mass societal cancers from carcenegenic industrial pollution, being innocent and locked away for twenty years, being bullied on a rugby forum.. (joke).

So let's list the things rugby is as bad as..and how we (you) rationalise watching it to our (your)selves.
Oh and can you (me) as former supporters get compensation, for being unwitting supporters and witnesses to this?

Guilt/ Emotional distress etc?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65088050

Former rugby players diagnosed with brain injuries could get millions of pounds from the sport's governing bodies to pay for their care.

More than 200 ex-players have accused rugby governing bodies of failing to protect them against brain injuries.

Legal experts said the claims against the organisations could exceed £300m.

World Rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said they constantly strive to safeguard players.

The class action suit is being taken against all three governing bodies.

Former stars involved in the claim include former British and Irish Lion and Wales captain Ryan Jones, England international and World Cup winner Steve Thompson and former Wales international Alix Popham.

Mr Jones revealed last year that he had joined the legal action after being diagnosed with early onset dementia.

[Line6 HXFX]

Regarding Guilt Emotional distress, so say you went to a magic show and instead of making the lions disappear (that you applauded and enjoyed) you found out they actually crushed them into soup, and drained the liquid to make them disappear.

So instead of magic, it was barbarism (like the disappearing dove trick but on a bigger scale)
You would rightly feel sickenned, disgusted and emotional distressed., and have a strong case for unwittingly being witness to this cruelty(and actually paying to see it and support it).

Say you went to a Rugby match, or followed it for decades..and the players you love were being suddennly wheeled out sufferring from Motor Neurons, Dementia, CTE, to your absolute shock and horror, and you were actually expected to accept this (all of a sudden) as part and parcel of the game.

Same thing as crushed lion magic trick.

You would rightly feel sickenned, disgusted and emotionally distressed...and have a strong case for unwittingly being witness to and supporting this cruelty (by paying to see it).

[Knoath]

Why is this person posting on any rugby site?

[Line6 HXFX]

Funny, when you are trying to compare rugby to things that it is as bad as, in a sarcastic, facetious sense of fun way, there isn't many places you can go.

Rugby is a bad for individuals as the war in Ukraine? Yeah probably..but only just. Only if you wouldn't rather die than have senile dementia, motor neurons or CTE. Then death is preferable.
Rugby is as bad as kids making iPhone. I mean some would rather their kid make an iPhone than played rugby.

I mean Rugby is certainly down there with Dog fighting, Bull Fighting, paying a homeless or mentally ill person to hit themselves on the head with a hammer.

[dabooldawg]

I totally agree, and to make the point even further, here's the list of players that were forced to play rugby:

1......

[LenCohen]

Funny, when you are trying to compare rugby to things that it is as bad as, in a sarcastic, facetious sense of fun way, there isn't many places you can go.

Rugby is a bad for individuals as the war in Ukraine? Yeah probably..but only just. Only if you wouldn't rather die than have senile dementia, motor neurons or CTE. Then death is preferable.
Rugby is as bad as kids making iPhone. I mean some would rather their kid make an iPhone than played rugby.

I mean Rugby is certainly down there with Dog fighting, Bull Fighting, paying a homeless or mentally ill person to hit themselves on the head with a hammer.

It's really interesting when you come across someone who seems genuinely unhinged, rather than saying odd things as an affectation

[Ymx]

How the fuck does Steward maiming my Hugo not get a mention what with the week that's in it

How on earth has no one else picked up that “he could have doid” instantly. I’m surprised we didn’t see his whole skull collapse in on itself, and his puréed brain gush out from his eye sockets.

[charltom]

I totally agree, and to make the point even further, here's the list of players that were forced to play rugby:

1......

I don't know what type of school you went to, but at mine I was certainly forced to play!

[Gumboot]

I totally agree, and to make the point even further, here's the list of players that were forced to play rugby:

1......

I don't know what type of school you went to, but at mine I was certainly forced to play!

On our first day of secondary school my mate and I foolishly raised our hands when we were asked who didn't want to play cricket, then spent the whole afternoon tending to the housemaster's garden.

[dabooldawg]

I totally agree, and to make the point even further, here's the list of players that were forced to play rugby:

1......

I don't know what type of school you went to, but at mine I was certainly forced to play!

Well the only advice I can give is to contact unicef and make them aware of this modern day slavery.

[Hal Jordan]

Not Hitler, obviously.

It's far worse.

[Jim Lahey]

I chose to play rugby from 1st form until I was 30. Other 1st formers were forced to play it for 3 months then were given the choice to play tuddlywunks or whatever the fuck else they did.

Provided that a coach isn't forcing you to play on after a concussion or some other serious injury, I don't see how the liability isn't with the player for chosing to play the sport. Amateurs chose to play a potentially dangerous sport, same as people chose to climb K2 or do off-piste alpine skiing.

Same goes for pros IMO. If a player has an injury concern, they should flag it and get the right treatment accordingly. If they aren't afforded the treatment/rest, then yes that is an employer liability and they should get the book thrown at them. If a player feels that they have to hide injuries to keep playing to get their next contract as they have nothing else to fall back on as a career, then that's on them for not having a Plan B in life.

[Sandstorm]

Same goes for pros IMO. If a player has an injury concern, they should flag it and get the right treatment accordingly. If they aren't afforded the treatment/rest, then yes that is an employer liability and they should get the book thrown at them. If a player feels that they have to hide injuries to keep playing to get their next contract as they have nothing else to fall back on as a career, then that's on them for not having a Plan B in life.

Maybe at pub level, but head trauma has always been treated as something to not be acknowledged in Pro Rugby and players have been pressured to keep playing after injury.

[GogLais]

Provided that a coach isn't forcing you to play on after a concussion or some other serious injury, I don't see how the liability isn't with the player for chosing to play the sport.

If a player feels that they have to hide injuries to keep playing to get their next contract as they have nothing else to fall back on as a career, then that's on them for not having a Plan B in life.

Certainly in the UK and I’d guess in the EU once a sport is professional there’s obviously an employer/employee relationship, which changes the whole thing. Although it’s struck me that the legal cases are being brought against the unions and not the individual clubs.
Bit harsh regarding a plan B, once most of us are established in our careers in say our mid 20s then any change is likely to leave us much poorer. Especially sportspeople maybe not really qualified to do anything else.

[Jim Lahey]

Provided that a coach isn't forcing you to play on after a concussion or some other serious injury, I don't see how the liability isn't with the player for chosing to play the sport.

If a player feels that they have to hide injuries to keep playing to get their next contract as they have nothing else to fall back on as a career, then that's on them for not having a Plan B in life.

Certainly in the UK and I’d guess in the EU once a sport is professional there’s obviously an employer/employee relationship, which changes the whole thing. Although it’s struck me that the legal cases are being brought against the unions and not the individual clubs.
Bit harsh regarding a plan B, once most of us are established in our careers in say our mid 20s then any change is likely to leave us much poorer. Especially sportspeople maybe not really qualified to do anything else.

Tbf rugby players are always one bad injury from retirement, and their pro career will end after 15 years at best, so they should absolutely have a Plan B if they are smart.

Most of us mortals don't have that same level of risk in our careers, so we can focus soley on it. But even then, if you are a factory worker for a manufacturing firm in the UK, you should probably have a Plan B to go into some sort of trade if your company upsticks to somewhere cheaper. Or if you are in financial services and the next recession hits, you may need to move into another industry if there are no jobs etc.

[GogLais]

Provided that a coach isn't forcing you to play on after a concussion or some other serious injury, I don't see how the liability isn't with the player for chosing to play the sport.

If a player feels that they have to hide injuries to keep playing to get their next contract as they have nothing else to fall back on as a career, then that's on them for not having a Plan B in life.

Certainly in the UK and I’d guess in the EU once a sport is professional there’s obviously an employer/employee relationship, which changes the whole thing. Although it’s struck me that the legal cases are being brought against the unions and not the individual clubs.
Bit harsh regarding a plan B, once most of us are established in our careers in say our mid 20s then any change is likely to leave us much poorer. Especially sportspeople maybe not really qualified to do anything else.

Tbf rugby players are always one bad injury from retirement, and their pro career will end after 15 years at best, so they should absolutely have a Plan B if they are smart.

Most of us mortals don't have that same level of risk in our careers, so we can focus soley on it. But even then, if you are a factory worker for a manufacturing firm in the UK, you should probably have a Plan B to go into some sort of trade if your company upsticks to somewhere cheaper. Or if you are in financial services and the next recession hits, you may need to move into another industry if there are no jobs etc.

I don’t want to sidetrack things too far but if you’re working away in your mid/late 20s it’s a big ask to also acquire other skills that could give you a good start in something totally different.

[Jim Lahey]

Certainly in the UK and I’d guess in the EU once a sport is professional there’s obviously an employer/employee relationship, which changes the whole thing. Although it’s struck me that the legal cases are being brought against the unions and not the individual clubs.
Bit harsh regarding a plan B, once most of us are established in our careers in say our mid 20s then any change is likely to leave us much poorer. Especially sportspeople maybe not really qualified to do anything else.

Tbf rugby players are always one bad injury from retirement, and their pro career will end after 15 years at best, so they should absolutely have a Plan B if they are smart.

Most of us mortals don't have that same level of risk in our careers, so we can focus soley on it. But even then, if you are a factory worker for a manufacturing firm in the UK, you should probably have a Plan B to go into some sort of trade if your company upsticks to somewhere cheaper. Or if you are in financial services and the next recession hits, you may need to move into another industry if there are no jobs etc.

I don’t want to sidetrack things too far but if you’re working away in your mid/late 20s it’s a big ask to also acquire other skills that could give you a good start in something totally different.

I agree. Probably too late mid-career.

The academies should be partnering up with local universities to ensure players are studying for life after rugby though. I'm pretty sure that is the case in Ireland anyway, but its worthy of consideration across the board.

[GogLais]

Tbf rugby players are always one bad injury from retirement, and their pro career will end after 15 years at best, so they should absolutely have a Plan B if they are smart.

Most of us mortals don't have that same level of risk in our careers, so we can focus soley on it. But even then, if you are a factory worker for a manufacturing firm in the UK, you should probably have a Plan B to go into some sort of trade if your company upsticks to somewhere cheaper. Or if you are in financial services and the next recession hits, you may need to move into another industry if there are no jobs etc.

I don’t want to sidetrack things too far but if you’re working away in your mid/late 20s it’s a big ask to also acquire other skills that could give you a good start in something totally different.

I agree. Probably too late mid-career.

The academies should be partnering up with local universities to ensure players are studying for life after rugby though. I'm pretty sure that is the case in Ireland anyway, but its worthy of consideration across the board.

Definitely given the nature of the job.

[LoveOfTheGame]

Funny, when you are trying to compare rugby to things that it is as bad as, in a sarcastic, facetious sense of fun way, there isn't many places you can go.

Rugby is a bad for individuals as the war in Ukraine? Yeah probably..but only just. Only if you wouldn't rather die than have senile dementia, motor neurons or CTE. Then death is preferable.
Rugby is as bad as kids making iPhone. I mean some would rather their kid make an iPhone than played rugby.

I mean Rugby is certainly down there with Dog fighting, Bull Fighting, paying a homeless or mentally ill person to hit themselves on the head with a hammer.

It's really interesting when you come across someone who seems genuinely unhinged, rather than saying odd things as an affectation

This.

[Simian]

I totally agree, and to make the point even further, here's the list of players that were forced to play rugby:

1......

I don't know what type of school you went to, but at mine I was certainly forced to play!

Well the only advice I can give is to contact unicef and make them aware of this modern day slavery.

81% of English state-funded secondary schools include rugby as part of their PE curriculum and it is compulsory for boys in 91% of those schools.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10 ... 84103/full

[Paddington Bear]

I don't know what type of school you went to, but at mine I was certainly forced to play!

Well the only advice I can give is to contact unicef and make them aware of this modern day slavery.

81% of English state-funded secondary schools include rugby as part of their PE curriculum and it is compulsory for boys in 91% of those schools.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10 ... 84103/full

There's rugby and rugby. We used to all have to play about 4-6 weeks of "rugby" a year in a mudbath park behind the school, then the c.20 of us who were actually interested would play in the team more seriously, what went on in PE counts as having played rugby in the same way I also acted in a Shakespeare play, spoke German and learned particle theory at school.

[Simian]

Well the only advice I can give is to contact unicef and make them aware of this modern day slavery.

81% of English state-funded secondary schools include rugby as part of their PE curriculum and it is compulsory for boys in 91% of those schools.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10 ... 84103/full

There's rugby and rugby. We used to all have to play about 4-6 weeks of "rugby" a year in a mudbath park behind the school, then the c.20 of us who were actually interested would play in the team more seriously, what went on in PE counts as having played rugby in the same way I also acted in a Shakespeare play, spoke German and learned particle theory at school.

I fully appreciate that. The issue is that being made to act in a play, learn a language, or take a physics course doesn't carry any physical risk and doesn't put you at much greater risk if those activities were overseen by someone who might not be qualified to teach it safely. The research on PE teachers understanding of concussion and its symptoms, lack on mandatory training in things like tackling technique etc, are really kinda frightening.

[charltom]

I don't know what type of school you went to, but at mine I was certainly forced to play!

Well the only advice I can give is to contact unicef and make them aware of this modern day slavery.

81% of English state-funded secondary schools include rugby as part of their PE curriculum and it is compulsory for boys in 91% of those schools.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10 ... 84103/full

I hate to say it, but this finding is utter bollox. I have no doubt that that many schools may offer it as part of PE, as opposed to as a proper Games option. But it can be offered in PE by covering it in one lesson a year, as my school would often do with minority sports, for the sake of awareness of the sport. There is no way on earth that 80% of state schools actually *play* rugby, e.g. against other schools.

[Simian]

Well the only advice I can give is to contact unicef and make them aware of this modern day slavery.

81% of English state-funded secondary schools include rugby as part of their PE curriculum and it is compulsory for boys in 91% of those schools.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10 ... 84103/full

I hate to say it, but this finding is utter bollox. I have no doubt that that many schools may offer it as part of PE, as opposed to as a proper Games option. But it can be offered in PE by covering it in one lesson a year, as my school would often do with minority sports, for the sake of awareness of the sport. There is no way on earth that 80% of state schools actually *play* rugby, e.g. against other schools.

I don't think anyone is debating that distinction (that's what "as part of their PE curriculum" meant in the OP). Nonetheless, contact rugby accounts for ~45% of all sports-related injuries in schools that required a trip to A&E.

[MungoMan]

As requested:
* bad apples
* bad medicine
* bad karma
* bad luck
* bad AIDS
* bad Leroy Brown
* bad to the bone
* bad day in Blackrock

[GogLais]

As requested:
* bad apples
* bad medicine
* bad karma
* bad luck
* bad AIDS
* bad Leroy Brown
* bad to the bone
* bad day in Blackrock

Bad moon rising

[MungoMan]

As requested:
* bad apples
* bad medicine
* bad karma
* bad luck
* bad AIDS
* bad Leroy Brown
* bad to the bone
* bad day in Blackrock

Bad moon rising

Unforgivable omission on my part. I shall knee myself in the goolies forthwith!