One of the key findings of the Department’s Committee on Sports, Media and Digital Culture was that there was no overarching responsibility within sports organizational structures to enforce minimum standards for concussions and head injuries or to assess whether protocols are being followed.
In a damning report released today, he says the government and sports bodies need urgent action to address a long-term failure to reduce the risks of brain injury in sports.
DCMS Committee Chair Julian Knight MP said: “We have been struck by the evidence of athletes who have suffered head injury, risking their future health for the sake of sporting success in the UK. What is surprising is that when it comes to reducing brain injury risks, sport has been allowed to do its own thing.
“The Health and Safety Executive is responsible by law.
“However, risk management seems to have been delegated to the National Governing Bodies, such as the FA. That is an abandonment of duty that must change. The failure of these sports organizations to address the problem of acquired brain injury is compounded by government inaction.
“Too often he has not acted on the well-being of the players and instead relied on unaccountable sports bodies.
“Most concerning is grassroots sports with mass participation where we have found negligible effort to track brain injuries and monitor long-term impacts.”
In his recommendations, he said that the Health and Safety Executive should work with the National Governing Bodies of all sports, such as the FA, RFU, ECB and RFL, to establish a national framework for the notification of sports injuries.
He advised that UK Sport should take on a governance role to ensure that all sports it funds raise awareness of the dangers of concussion effectively.
Furthermore, he said UK Sport should also pay for a medical officer at every major sporting event with the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the participants and the power to prevent at-risk athletes from competing.
In soccer, MPs found a lack of commitment to the concussion issue despite a verdict by a coroner nearly 20 years ago that the dementia suffered by player Jeff Astle was completely consistent with heading a ball.
In rugby, concussion protocols have advanced significantly.
Yet in union, it is clear that there are still many troubling issues when the protocol back to the six-stage game recently allowed English hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie to represent the British Lions just seven days after being knocked out playing for Exeter Chiefs in the Premiership. final.
Former England scrum half Kyran Bracken is part of Progressive Rugby, the lobby of former players, coaches and doctors for safer play.
He gave testimony to the committee. Bracken last night said The Yorkshire Post: “In rugby, where we are seen as a kind of pioneer (with protocols), we are actually more like fans and that has been observed by Parliament.
“In fact, we are now at that stage where other agencies will have to get more involved in these protocols.
“(It is good) to reinforce that something is not quite right. I feel like someone in a pressure group where you know something is not safe; it cannot be tested and can only be tested when rugby players have died and we can see that head injuries are a problem. But if you can’t prove it, it’s a bit like the tobacco industry; you will have to wait the better part of ten years to prove things.
“At least now they recognize the problem, but what stage will World Rugby be at? He said by the Executive to make changes? “
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Source: www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-07-21 23:23:24
