The impact head trauma has on players, their families and friends, is the most complex and devastating issue in world sport. And the industry needs to unite, not fight, to safeguard the game.
This issue has brought to the fore considerations about the rights of players, health and safety, governance, research, and science, as well as the ever-important game on-field.
What happened at Geelong should never have occurred and was a breach of the AFL Rules – Jake Kolodjashnij should never have been asked to choose between playing and being legally protected.
It came about because doctors and the club felt greater risk than they were willing to absorb. That challenge is not limited to Geelong, nor is it going away. The solution cannot be to pass this risk to our players.
As an industry, now is the time to address these challenges by reassessing how concussion prevention and management can be better.
A reasonable first step would be to ensure the AFL’s concussion panel makes clear determinations in every case. We’ve seen the fallout when clubs, doctors, and players are left to find their own solution without direction.
Players are competitors and want to play. They acknowledge there are physical risks. That is part of playing our great game at any level, but particularly the elite level.
Our industry must take proactive steps to further reduce those risks. That will require the game to adapt, governing how much contact players are exposed to at training and reviewing concussion protocols, including the diagnostic tools that underpin them.
Club doctors are central to the care of our players and these prevention and mitigation strategies. We need to address their heightened concerns due to the ongoing concussion litigation to ensure our players keep getting the best medical care.
And then when the risks of the game are enlivened every time the siren goes, we need to handle the response and support of our players in a way the game can be proud of.
This year, our Injury & Support Fund will spend approximately $15 million to support past players, covering lump sum payments for football-ending injuries and permanent injuries that impact ongoing work as well as regular payments for defined medical costs and psychological care.
It is an expansive safety net built in the last decade and the envy of every other sport in Australia, but there are still significant gaps. Players can’t be responsible for solely funding this safety net into the future. It will require the AFL to contribute financially.
An expanded safety net could cover medical care for players when they exit the game, provide increased payments when injuries prematurely end careers, step in where insurers have stepped away this year, and provide greater support ongoing for those with cognitive issues.
Government can also play a role given athletes are largely excluded from workplace compensation schemes available for most Australians. Federal and State Governments have made significant contributions to the game’s facilities, but moving forward it is the players – the game’s workforce – that should be the focus of their attention.
This issue is bigger than one club, or one player. It is a test of whether the industry is prepared to put player health and safety ahead of short-term fixes.
If we meet it together, with courage and responsibility, we can protect the people who make the game great and ensure Australian football is safer and stronger for generations to come.