Concussion Legal Action Against WR

[average joe]

Twenty or thirty years ago punches were not uncommon and hardly ever got penalised.

[GogLais]

Twenty or thirty years ago punches were not uncommon and hardly ever got penalised.

Not sure what point you’re making. As far as I’m aware the concussive consequences of constant battering in training and games are far worse than receiving a punch now and then.

[Niegs]

Probably not a good sign for rugby - a team sport about scoring points via kicking a ball through some posts and/or putting the ball down over a line - that it's being compared with combat sports where knocking your opponent unconcscious is a winning condition

And so many declare it a 'collision sport' when it doesn't have to be strategically/tactically.

[SaintK]

Excellent article
https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2F ... rain%2F

[Guy Smiley]

Excellent article
https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2F ... rain%2F

That has me feeling really pissed off all over again.

[Niegs]

Important quote from that:

“But money has distorted the game’s values, and conflicts of interest have crippled the sport and prevented it from having an honest conversation with itself.”

People asking why community rugby has to change tackle laws while pros do not and yet ref isn’t sure if a direct shoulder to the head is a red or not, likely thinking about the amount of people who are going to roast HIM in-person and online for “ruining” the match afterwards.

I don’t even believe the numbers English critics cite (saying it’s incredibly low, 1 concussion per 25 games) given how many players I saw stood down last year by our club’s very good, no-nonsense, licensed physio. I would guess our club had one per game, odd one at training. Thankfully, the coaches and men all support her decisions, but no way that sort of diligence is consistent across the community game.

It was interesting (and distressing) hearing one of the national hopefuls talk about how he used to game the system after a ‘knock’ and working with a former international at minis who I suspect has some issues given his speech pattern and bouts of confusion that his buddies kinda joke about but clearly are a bit concerned about as well.

[inactionman]

Although not a head injury, it's a noteworthy legal outcome in a very sad case.

A female player was paralysed from the waist down in a 'reckless' tackle (magistrate's words), and the tackler has been found liable for damages.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... ing-player

There's images on the internet I won't link to, but looks similar to the 'crusher' tackle that League has had to actively ban - looks like the tackler caught her as she was bent down picking up from a ruck and smashed her downwards.

Apols to quote myself - some good news, I'm pleased to report, the poor lass who was injured is grabbing life by the balls:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/disability-sport/66545298

Czernuszka-Watts has conquered the challenges she has set herself so far. Twice she has completed the London Marathon, and sailed around Antigua with other wheelchair users.

It was after the first marathon that she decided to fill the hole in her life that sport had previously occupied. That video of sledge hockey - now known as Para-ice hockey - lurked in her memory and so she went to her first session with the Cardiff Huskies.

"I went out the next day and bought my kit. It was like freedom," she says.

In 2021, she answered a call for women with lower-limb disabilities to be a part of the Great Britain women's Para-ice hockey programme. She pulled on the red, white and blue - the number seven on her back once again - for the first time at the inaugural Women's World Challenge in Green Bay, Wisconsin, last year, an achievement made all the more remarkable given she had given birth to her third child eight weeks earlier.

Fan-fucking-tastic, and all the very best of luck to her

[inactionman]

This was quite sobering - David Squires usually does some pretty flippant cartoons on football but he's covered off concussion and long term injury in the NFL. Not much fun here, I'm afraid, and not pleasant to read that the NFL are resisting Eric Smith's claim for permanent disability despite all he's going through.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng ... d-and-body

[SaintK]

Interesting!

Rugby union is to become the world’s first sport to use technology to automatically withdraw players with a suspected brain injury from the field of play, the Guardian can reveal.

World Rugby is expected to confirm within the next 48 hours that it will adopt smart mouthguard technology, which measures the G-force of every head impact in real time, in all its elite matches to help make the game safer.

The technology, which works by using bluetooth to immediately alert an independent doctor whenever a player suffers a big collision in a tackle or ruck, will be debuted in the WXV women’s match between Italy and Japan on 13 October. It will then be rolled out into the men’s professional game in January, in time for the Six Nations.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/202 ... impacts

[Torquemada 1420]

Interesting!

Rugby union is to become the world’s first sport to use technology to automatically withdraw players with a suspected brain injury from the field of play, the Guardian can reveal.

World Rugby is expected to confirm within the next 48 hours that it will adopt smart mouthguard technology, which measures the G-force of every head impact in real time, in all its elite matches to help make the game safer.

The technology, which works by using bluetooth to immediately alert an independent doctor whenever a player suffers a big collision in a tackle or ruck, will be debuted in the WXV women’s match between Italy and Japan on 13 October. It will then be rolled out into the men’s professional game in January, in time for the Six Nations.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/202 ... impacts

Thanks for link.

[SaintK]

[PornDog]

Rugby is dangerous, people know its dangerous and then people will act surprised when some report or other officially states its dangerous. It's the same with boxing and MMA.

I know this post is from months ago, but this sort of argument really fucking grinds my gears. There is zero reason why rugby should be in the same conversation with Boxing and MMA. None whatsoever. Rugby has become a collision sport, but it never used to be. It was always, and should return to be, a contact sport. There is a very big difference between those two philosophies.

When I grew up watching and playing the game (and we're talking up to the mid 90's here, not way back in the 19 dickities) it was a contact sport where collisions occasionally occurred. They are now commonplace. Scrums, rucks and mauls were things that you bound on to and used strength and skill to push and wrestle your opponents to your advantage. Tackle's the same, cheek to cheek and you used your core then to destablise the ball carrier and bring them to the ground (or if you were a back you'd just latch on and hope the anchor effect was enough to bring them down). Now its all smash, smash, smash and the game is much worse off for it.

I know there will be younger fans who actually can't imagine the game as I have just described it, but trust me, it did exist. And if you really need convincing, Ireland were shite at it, so that's got to appeal to a good bunch of you.

[Line6 HXFX]

That technology is great..if we sacked all rugby players today, scrapped all competitions..and waited 9 years to start rugby up again..using mouthgaurds in under nines.. mini rugby.

Guess all current players are fucked huh?

I mean where is the technology that scans players brains to see how fucked up they already are, by the multiple heavy concussions they have already probably sufferred..and telling them

"hey we know you are only 23 kid, and feel fine, but you is...sorry did your mind just wander for a bit then....concentrate damn it...not fine, look scan shows heavy damage to your pre frontal cortex, which controls you...look put the knife down..nurse code blue.. we have another O.J Simpso.arrghhhh"...

[Line6 HXFX]

212 players who I assume are showing signs of cognitive impairment from playing rugby.


This is just fucking heartbreaking.
I genuinely feel so deeply sorry for them and their families.





HomeSportRugbyWales Rugby Team
The full list of 76 Welsh rugby players taking legal action for brain injuries
A total of 212 former players are suing the governing bodies World Rugby, Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union

At least 76 Welsh rugby players have been named as claimants in the High Court concussion lawsuit against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union.

Following a case management hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Friday, 212 players have been named as being involved in the suit and are suing the governing bodies. You can read more about that here.

Of those 212 announced today, 76 are definitely Welsh and include the likes of Gavin Henson, former skipper Colin Charvis and Ian Gough, among others. The number is likely to be higher, with some of the players listed amateurs who more than likely are Welsh based on the limited information available, but cannot be confirmed as such. So far, 34 Wales internationals are confirmed to be involved.

Previously, former players such as Alix Popham and Ryan Jones had gone public with their claims but this is the first time a number have been named.

The Welsh list in full
Adam Hughes

Alix Popham

Andrew Coombs

Andrew Lamerton

Andrew Millward

Carl Hamans

Carwyn Jones

Craig Hawkins

Dafydd James

David Llewellyn

David Maddocks

Derwyn Jones

Emyr Lewis

Gareth Cull

Gareth Owen

Gareth Price

Gareth Williams

Gavin Evans

Gavin Thomas

Geraint Thomas

Hal Luscombe

Hywel Jenkins

Ian Gough

Ian Jones

James Griffiths

Jamie Ringer

Jamie Robinson

Jonathan Ross Coombs

Leigh Davies

Lenny Woodard

Lou Reed

Lyndon Bateman

Mark Perego

Matthew Dwyer

Matthew Pewtner

Michael Hook

Michael Powell

Nigel Bezani

Paul Clapham

Paul Pook

Paul Smithson

Rhys Gill

Rhys James

Rhys Thomas

Robson Blake

Rory Pitman

Rory Watts-Jones

Ryan Jones

Saul Nelson

Simon Gardiner

Stephen Winn

Deian Thomas

Glen Webbe

Mike Watkins

Non Evans

Paul Ringer

Sean Gilbertson

Shaun Gustard

Trefor Evans

Brendan Lyons

Christopher Stevens

Colin Charvis

Darren Morris

David Bishop

Gavin Henson

Ian Greenslade

Joseph Grabham

Joshua Rhys James

Leighton Jones

Lewis Rawlins

Matthew Jones

Morgan Stoddart

Nathan Strong

Scott Hicks

Wayne Booth

The full list of players
Adam Hughes

Adam Black

Adam Eustace

Adam Palfrey

Alan Awcock

Alexander Cheesman

Alexander Lundberg

Alfie To'oala Vaeluaga

Alix Popham

Andrew Clarke

Andrew Coombs

Andrew Lamerton

Andrew Millward

Andrew Springgay

Ben Pegna

Callum Wilson

Carl Hamans

Carl Hayman

Carwyn Jones

Charlie Beech

Christian Short

Christopher Arnold

Christopher Cracknell

Christopher Jones

Christopher Planchant

Christopher Whitehead

Christopher Simpson-Daniel

Craig Hawkins

Dafydd James

Dale Rasmussen

Daniel Roberts

Daniel Scarborough

David Corkery

David Jackson

David Llewelyn

David Maddocks

David Merlin

Derwyn Jones

Dominic Ryan

Duncan Bell

Emyr Lewis

Finlay Barnham

Gareth Cull

Gareth Owen

Gareth Price

Gareth Williams

Gavin Evans

Gavin Thomas

Geraint Davies

Hal Luscombe

Harry Ellis

Hywel Jenkins

Ian Gough

Ian Jones

Inoke Afeaki

Jack Cobden

James Collins

James Griffiths

James Voss

Jamie Cudmore

Jamie Ringer

Jamie Robinson

Jason Hobson

John Carter

John Paul O'Reilly

Jonathan Ross Coombs

Joseph Buckle

Joseph Cobden

Joseph Trayfoot

Justin Blanchet

Justin Wring

Kieran Low

Leigh Davies

Lenny Woodard

Leo Halavatau

Lou Reed

Luke Fielden

Luke Wishnowsky

Lyndon Bateman

Mark Perego

Mark Regan MBE

Mark Robinson

Mathew Vaughan

Matthew Dwyer

Matthew Pewtner

Michael Hook

Michael Lipman

Michael Myerscough

Michael Powell

Michael Wilson

Mouritz Botha

Neil Clark

Neil Spence

Neil Walker

Nick Williams

Nigel Bezani

Oliver Hayes

Oliver Hodge

Oliver Phillips

Paul Boulard

Paul Clapham

Paul Jones

Paul Pook

Paul Sampson

Paul Smithson

Paul Volley

Peter Short

Philip Nilsen

Philip Vickery MBE

Regan King

Rhys Gill

Rhys James

Rhys Thomas

Richard Thorpe

Robert Green

Robert Hoadley

Robert Kydd

Robson Blake

Roger Wilson

Rory Pitman

Rory Watts-Jones

Russell Kesley

Ryan Jones MBE

Samuel Blanchet

Saul Nelson

Sean Lamont

Simon Gardiner

Simon Mason

Steve Thompson MBE

Stephen Winn

Tevita Taumoepeau

Theo Brophy-Clews

Thomas Pierce

Thomas Rock

Timothy Cowley

Vaughan Going

Aakesh Rai

Adam French

Alexander Abbey

Alexander Barnes

Alun Griffiths

Andrew Herbert

Anne Marie Livesey as Litigation Friend for Martin Livesey

Ben Pickett

Ben Rider

Caer Davies

Ceri Jones

Colin Wood

Craig Harvey

Craig Thomas

Daniel Napier

David Riley

Deian Thomas

Dianne Williams as personal representative for Ivor Wyn Williams

Gerwyn Davies

Glen Webbe

Hugo Dickson

Ieuan Cranswick

Jack Yates

Martin Frost as Litigation Friend for James Batterham

Jonathan Purnell

Jon Godson as Litigation Friend for Alan Godson

Joseph Cook

Joshua Hosford

Kristian Trezise

Kyle Green

Lewis Edwards

Mark Catterall

Matthew Clement

Meghan Mutrie

Michael Davies

Michael Lloyd Jones as personal representative of Peter Jones (deceased)

Michael Powell

Michael Watkins

Claire Riou as Litigation Friend for Nicolas Riou

Non Evans

Oliver Cavanagh

Paul Ringer

Paul Rudd

Paul Thompson

Rhys Watkins

Richard Howells

Robert Cunningham

Robert Johnston

Ryan Griffiths

Sean Gilbertson

Shaun Doughton

Shaun Gustard

Stephen Williams

Stephen Butcher

Steven Sugar

Teresa O'Reilly

Timothy Graves

Ruth Walters as Litigation Friend for Trefor Evans

Ben Gerry

Brendan Lyons

Brett Sheehan

Christopher Stevens

Colin Charvis

Darren Morris

David Bishop

Gavin Henson

Ian Greenslade

Jack Stanley

John Leota

Jordan Davies

Joseph Grabham

Joshua Rhys James

Leighton Jones

Lewis Rawlins

Mark Ridehalgh

Matthew Jones

Michael Peters

Morgan Stoddart

Nathan Strong

Oliver Catterjee

Paul Knight

Paul Whittaker

Richard Armswood

Ross Johnston

Scott Crosby

Scott Hicks

Simon Bunting

Wayne Booth

[inactionman]

First I've heard of this, but looks promising

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union ... 0lknlv2ylo

A new brain-cooling treatment for sports-related concussion is being trialled in professional rugby union.

It is the first acute treatment for the injury able to be delivered pitchside and is being used by six clubs in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

'PolarCap' works by delivering targeted cooling to the head and neck for between 45 and 60 minutes following a concussion injury.

The treatment originates from a five-year study in professional ice hockey in Sweden, which found it had the potential to reduce long-term concussion absence.

[Niegs]

It's the NRL, but the comments that almost-exclusively support Graham that follow the post also seem to include Union people as well. There are always a lot of similar comments following similar rugby stories too.



I suppose the combat sport argument has a point - boxing and MMA aren't going away and current rugby players/coaches know more about the risks than those who battered each other in the 90s and 00s. But I also want these people to constantly keep in mind people like Billy Guyton, Paul Green, et al and recognize that safer just doesn't protect the sport from lawsuits, it reduces the likelihood that people die because of sport.

[Sandstorm]

First I've heard of this, but looks promising

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union ... 0lknlv2ylo

A new brain-cooling treatment for sports-related concussion is being trialled in professional rugby union.

It is the first acute treatment for the injury able to be delivered pitchside and is being used by six clubs in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

'PolarCap' works by delivering targeted cooling to the head and neck for between 45 and 60 minutes following a concussion injury.

The treatment originates from a five-year study in professional ice hockey in Sweden, which found it had the potential to reduce long-term concussion absence.

Make it a rule that every player does it for 30 minutes after every match, especially the forwards.

[SaintK]

Fucking hell!
RFU, WRU and RFL not forthcoming with medical records and documents

The England World Cup winners Steve Thompson and Mark Regan have accused the Rugby Football Union of “suppressing their medical records” in a significant escalation of their landmark legal battle over brain injuries.
In a letter sent to the Information Commissioner’s Office they and 42 other former players have called for an “urgent investigation” into the failure of the RFU and other rugby bodies to hand over personal data that is pertinent to their case and could be crucial to their clinical treatment. The letter has also been signed by rugby league and amateur players, as well as families of dead former players.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/arti ... -rugby

[epwc]

I saw Lewis Moody at a wedding couple of months ago, thankfully lucid and fit as a fiddle. I always thought he'd have concussion related issues.

Tough to see what the right thing is here, every tackle whether it results in head contact or not creates enough whiplash to hurt the brain.

[Stranger]

I really don't see much future for the game. I had a few concussions when I was playing, followed by a period of "migraines" which I didn't connect at the time. I am fairly sure that if I had the information available now I would have stopped playing.

There again I was fairly stupid in my mid twenties, so who knows

[inactionman]

Interesting but not particularly joyful article about the effect of CTE and head injuries in American football.

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/cu ... =longreads

One thing that really caught my eye was an image of the helmet a lad who suffered from CTE used to wear:



The caption for this reads:

The scars on Barrett Callaghan’s helmet were a source of pride — now, they’re a painful reminder.

I appreciate some of that is going to be wear-and-tear from being slung into the car boot after a game, but a fair bit of that must be head-on-head.

If anyone's interested, the lad had a fair few issues in his early 20s with mood swings etc and sadly died in a car crash at 25 - his family donated his brain to the 'Brain Bank' at Boston Uni to help with research into CTE.
https://concussionfoundation.org/person ... -callaghan

[Niegs]

Interesting but not particularly joyful article about the effect of CTE and head injuries in American football.

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/cu ... =longreads

One thing that really caught my eye was an image of the helmet a lad who suffered from CTE used to wear:



The caption for this reads:

The scars on Barrett Callaghan’s helmet were a source of pride — now, they’re a painful reminder.

I appreciate some of that is going to be wear-and-tear from being slung into the car boot after a game, but a fair bit of that must be head-on-head.

If anyone's interested, the lad had a fair few issues in his early 20s with mood swings etc and sadly died in a car crash at 25 - his family donated his brain to the 'Brain Bank' at Boston Uni to help with research into CTE.
https://concussionfoundation.org/person ... -callaghan

Nah, I think all of that will be from games. I played offensive tackle in high school and we saw other teams’ colours on our helmets as cool battle scars. The only source for getting paint on it is the helmet of an opponent. And coaches tend to instill in you that you treat your helmet with care… no sitting on it, let alone chucking it.

When concussion talk shifted from severe impacts to repeated micro ones I really started to wonder if my four years on the line (maybe 30 games?) did more damage than the two rugby and one football training concussions I remember? Is it just age that leads to moments where I forget basic things like co-workers’ names?

Rucking these days at the highest level (and occasionally below) must be similar to linemen clashes in football, heading the ball in soccer? Sudden jolts, with a lot involving the head to some degree.

[Sandstorm]

Rucking these days at the highest level (and occasionally below) must be similar to linemen clashes in football, heading the ball in soccer? Sudden jolts, with a lot involving the head to some degree.

It's the forwards doing repeated pick-'n-goes on the try-line and stopping each other with their heads that makes me wince.

[Niegs]

Rucking these days at the highest level (and occasionally below) must be similar to linemen clashes in football, heading the ball in soccer? Sudden jolts, with a lot involving the head to some degree.

It's the forwards doing repeated pick-'n-goes on the try-line and stopping each other with their heads that makes me wince.

Yes, another area where they've basically said 'head contact there is okay because so many people cried the death of pick and goes'.

[Niegs]

Comments on this saying Chessum was also knocked out but 'passed' HIA that shouldn't have been issued (straight off if knocked out).

[Slick]

Comments on this saying Chessum was also knocked out but 'passed' HIA that shouldn't have been issued (straight off if knocked out).

Players have got to stop being dicks and take some responsibility as well.

[Rhubarb & Custard]

Players have got to stop being dicks and take some responsibility as well.

When you're out on the pitch ready to get stuck in you make some very bad decisions, hardly surprising, this simply shouldn't be left as an option to the players

[JM2K6]

Comments on this saying Chessum was also knocked out but 'passed' HIA that shouldn't have been issued (straight off if knocked out).

Players have got to stop being dicks and take some responsibility as well.

Can't think of anyone less responsible for their decisions than a professional player who's just suffered brain trauma

[Slick]

Comments on this saying Chessum was also knocked out but 'passed' HIA that shouldn't have been issued (straight off if knocked out).

Players have got to stop being dicks and take some responsibility as well.

Can't think of anyone less responsible for their decisions than a professional player who's just suffered brain trauma

Just about every single player that has spoken about the issue will tell stories about playing on knowing they shouldn’t. That wee Welsh/English guy took himself out of the game and got nothing but praise

I’m obviously not saying players should be the only one making the decisions but they have to take some responsibility

[Niegs]

https://archive.ph/LqGkI

The Times & The Sunday Times

DAVID WALSH
Deluded contact sports are still not serious about player welfare
Troubling recent cases in the NFL, rugby league and rugby union underscore how the authorities are merely paying lip service to concussion and brain-

Saturday October 05 2024, 10.30pm BST, The Sunday Times
For all the talk, slogans, poster campaigns, PR waffle, contact sports still don’t get it. Players’ brains need to be better protected. Everyone involved knows this and many on the inside say this is happening. At best, they’re kidding themselves. At worst, well, you don’t want to think about that.
Last week you may have seen that the Leicester Tigers head coach, Michael Cheika, received a two-week ban, with one week suspended, for showing a lack of respect towards the independent match-day doctor after the Tigers’ game against Exeter Chiefs in the Gallagher Premiership last month. Should you wish to really know what passes for player welfare, stick with me.

Twelve or so minutes from the end of that game, Leicester’s Ollie Chessum and Solomone Kata attempted to tackle Exeter’s Immanuel Feyi-Waboso. Coming from opposite sides, their heads collided. Such was the impact, they collapsed like fallen prize fighters. Kata stayed down for a minute, having a gash treated. Remarkably, it wasn’t considered necessary to remove him for a head-injury assessment (HIA). Chessum stayed down for more than two minutes.

“Clearly, the captain there hit the ground, he won’t be playing any further part in the game. Certainly shouldn’t be, looking at the way he fell,” the TNT Sports co-commentator Ben Kay said. There was nothing controversial in what the former England lock said. Chessum had taken a significant blow to the head and fallen in a manner that suggested he had momentarily lost consciousness.

He left the field in the 69th minute for his 12-minute HIA. Who in God’s name would think of returning him to the fray for the final minute of the game? With 30 seconds remaining on the clock, Chessum returned and his first involvement was to win the lineout that led to the Tigers’ winning try. So, all good then. Not at all. Having reviewed video evidence of the clash of heads, the independent match-day doctor changed his verdict on Chessum. The player, he decided, should have been permanently removed, not sent for a HIA. This change meant Chessum would have to undergo a mandatory 12-day stand-down period, causing him to miss Leicester’s next game.

Cheika was not pleased with the independent doctor’s re-evaluation and after the game spent five minutes telling him just that. The head coach was originally charged with “offensive, disparaging, insulting and intimidatory” behaviour towards the doctor and was then banned for his lack of respect. Thirteen years ago, when head coach at Stade Français, Cheika was fined €20,000 (about £16,740) for insulting, disparaging, intimidatory or offensive comments made to match officials after a European Challenge Cup final against Harlequins.

The perplexing part is how anyone would send Chessum back on the pitch with 30 seconds remaining on the clock. The head collision was serious and it had taken him more than two minutes to get to his feet.

In this world, actions don’t match words, at least not when it comes to player welfare. Last week the Telegraph’s Jeremy Wilson reported on the pre-hearing inquest into the dementia-caused death of the former Middlesbrough footballer Bill Gates. To the hearing, the FA sent the barrister Roger Harris to try to persuade the senior coroner, Jeremy Chipperfield, that it wasn’t necessary to establish whether Gates’s death was caused by playing football
“It is not in the public interest to extend the scope of this inquest to consider the matters that were being suggested in the family’s submissions,” Harris said. “To expand it to the course of the occupation as a footballer is neither desirable, nor proportionate nor necessary.”

Let us put this gently, the coroner was not swayed by the FA’s argument and said he would investigate if Gates’s death was caused by trauma and whether that trauma was caused by playing football. Michael Rawlinson, the barrister representing Gates’s family, criticised the FA for wasting the coroner’s time. From the FA, more platitudes. “We were sad to hear of the death of Bill Gates and we wish to express our sympathy to his family. It would not be appropriate to comment on the coroner’s ongoing investigation.” Neither would it be sensible to try to defend the indefensible.
Last week an inquest into the death of the former South African rugby player Nick Koster reported how, in July last year, Koster had left a mental health hospital in Attleborough, Norfolk, having received permission to walk to nearby shops. He ended his life while away from the facility. Koster captained Cambridge University in the 2018 Varsity match and played for Bath and Bristol. It was reported that his struggle with depression began four months before his death.

There have been a significant number of deaths by suicide of former NFL, rugby league and rugby union players. It would be reassuring to think the authorities were out there, engaging sensitively with the families of the deceased and asking for permission to have the brain of their loved one examined. If chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a greater problem than we think, we need to know. And those who’ve lost loved ones deserve more answers than they’re getting.

Last month the Australian neuropathologist Michael Buckland revealed that he’d found CTE in the brain of the former rugby league star Keith Titmuss, 20, who died four years ago after a gruelling training session with his team, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. An inquest this year reported that the highly rated Titmuss had died of heatstroke. His family asked for his brain to be examined and Buckland was surprised at the level of CTE he discovered.
“I was surprised that in a 20-year-old you can have a significant burden of this disease, in someone who hadn’t really exhibited any signs or symptoms,” Buckland said.

If you have the time and the inclination, seek out Reid Forgrave’s chilling 2017 story about Zac Easter in the magazine GQ, The Concussion Diaries: One High School Football Player’s Secret Struggle with CTE. Before he ended his life at 24, Easter became convinced he was suffering from CTE and in the five months before his death he kept a diary of what his life had become. He donated his brain to the Concussion Foundation and the post-mortem examination confirmed he had CTE.

Something the London-based neuroradiologist Emer MacSweeney said in a TED talk two years ago should also encourage us to think more about this problem. “Despite the 2015 landmark and multimillion NFL settlement for retired American football players with brain injury, and the 2015 Will Smith movie Concussion, the fear and reality of dementia in contact sports is not adequately known, it is not widely addressed, and it is not going away.”
Those who run our contact sports and talk endlessly about player welfare are deluding themselves while not fooling us.

[Sandstorm]

Ah, our Aussie friend Cheika still making friends wherever he goes:

"He left the field in the 69th minute for his 12-minute HIA. Who in God’s name would think of returning him to the fray for the final minute of the game? With 30 seconds remaining on the clock, Chessum returned and his first involvement was to win the lineout that led to the Tigers’ winning try. So, all good then. Not at all. Having reviewed video evidence of the clash of heads, the independent match-day doctor changed his verdict on Chessum. The player, he decided, should have been permanently removed, not sent for a HIA. This change meant Chessum would have to undergo a mandatory 12-day stand-down period, causing him to miss Leicester’s next game.

Cheika was not pleased with the independent doctor’s re-evaluation and after the game spent five minutes telling him just that. The head coach was originally charged with “offensive, disparaging, insulting and intimidatory” behaviour towards the doctor and was then banned for his lack of respect. Thirteen years ago, when head coach at Stade Français, Cheika was fined €20,000 (about £16,740) for insulting, disparaging, intimidatory or offensive comments made to match officials after a European Challenge Cup final against Harlequins."

[SaintK]

Sounds pretty dodgy!

The man leading the multimillion-pound brain injury lawsuit representing hundreds of rugby players is under investigation from the Solicitors Regulation Authority after a former England international claimed in a submission to court that he felt pressured to lie about having dementia.

In a case this month that has raised questions over how Richard Boardman recruits players to join the lawsuit brought by his firm, Rylands Garth, against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union, the former Wasps prop Will Green was unsuccessfully sued for legal and medical costs after ­refusing to join the group action.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/202 ... ruitment

[inactionman]

Sounds pretty dodgy!

The man leading the multimillion-pound brain injury lawsuit representing hundreds of rugby players is under investigation from the Solicitors Regulation Authority after a former England international claimed in a submission to court that he felt pressured to lie about having dementia.

In a case this month that has raised questions over how Richard Boardman recruits players to join the lawsuit brought by his firm, Rylands Garth, against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union, the former Wasps prop Will Green was unsuccessfully sued for legal and medical costs after ­refusing to join the group action.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/202 ... ruitment

In this, of all things, we could do without the ambulance chasers

No real idea what Boardman being investigated, charged or Indeed found against would do for the whole group action

[Slick]

Sounds pretty dodgy!

The man leading the multimillion-pound brain injury lawsuit representing hundreds of rugby players is under investigation from the Solicitors Regulation Authority after a former England international claimed in a submission to court that he felt pressured to lie about having dementia.

In a case this month that has raised questions over how Richard Boardman recruits players to join the lawsuit brought by his firm, Rylands Garth, against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union, the former Wasps prop Will Green was unsuccessfully sued for legal and medical costs after ­refusing to join the group action.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/202 ... ruitment

What a guy