Should children be prevented from playing Australian Rules football?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right: On November 1, 2020, SBS News televised a report on the Australian Sports Brain Bank and the risks that young players, in particular, face because of head injuries through sport.What they said...
'I can't do stuff - I can't go to the supermarket when it's busy or go to a cafe with my girlfriend, or drive my car... I'm the shell of the person that I was'
Paddy McCartin, 24-year-old former St Kilda player, commenting on the effect of repeated on-field concussions
'These papers don't say, "Don't play sports." . . . They support good [head safety] policies in sports'
Seena Fazel, professor of forensic psychiatry at the University of Oxford, explaining the conclusions he believes should be drawn from his research
The issue at a glance
On January 27, 2021, it was reported that Dr Chris Nowinski, co-founder of the United States-based Concussion Legacy Foundation, had warned against children playing the adult version of Australian Rules football because of the associated health risks.
On January 23, 2021, it was reported that former Richmond footballer Shane Tuck, who committed suicide on July 20, 2020, at the age of 38, had the most severe case the Australian Sports Brain Bank has yet seen of the degenerative brain disease CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), which was also found post-mortem in former players Polly Farmer and Danny Frawley. CTE has been linked to head injuries sustained in contact sports such as Australian Rules football.
On September 17, 2020, former AFL player Shaun Smith was awarded a $1.4m insurance payout for 'total and permanent disablement caused by multiple concussions while playing football', in what has been judged a landmark case.
The debate over the safety of Australian Rules football and whether it is a suitable game for children has been developing over the last decade.