We know from American football that a storm is heading rugby’s way. The governing bodies must act now rather than wait to see if a court of law finds them liable
There is no easy answer to the central, tragic flaw in all collision sports, which is that the more players improve, the more dangerous they become to each other. The explosion in the number and intensity of collisions that rugby has witnessed over the past 25 years or so is not the result of some conspiracy by delinquent coaches and players trying to hurt each other. It is simply the logical conclusion of collision sports, which place such premium on speed, power and fitness.
The best-case scenario is that the players’ diagnoses of probable CTE are wrong. The brain damage they have suffered is on the scans and undeniable, but are the resultant conditions degenerative? In other words, will they die of them? If some or any of these conditions reported by players turn out to be degenerative, that storm in the distance is heading rugby’s way. When the story broke of the crisis in 2020,with early-onset dementia. In 2019, after years of escalating difficulties with memory, executive function and emotional ability, my wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at the age of 49.
My wife is closer to five foot than six and she did not play international rugby. If she is too much for most homes to take on, how many will consider someone who does answer to that description?
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