Geelong's Max Rooke, who is the lead plaintiff in the legal battle, is pictured in 2009 being helped from the ground after suffering one of the alleged 20-30 concussions he experienced over his career.
(AFL Photos)
Concussion in sport is a widely known and researched issue, but concerns around it continue to grow, will significant lawsuits be the new normal for sporting leagues?
This topic has flared up as the link between concussions and mental health continues to become clearer due to ongoing research, the latest concussion related lawsuit is threatening to cost the AFL as much as $1 billion.
The landmark class action was recently launched by former Geelong Football Club two-time premiership player, Max Rooke and was joined by more than 60 former players. Each player is suing the AFL for $2 million to compensate for the damage they sustained through head trauma, medical costs and their ruined quality of life.
Margalit Injury Lawyers recently published a statement that alleged Rooke had suffered “permanent, life-altering injuries … due to the negligence of the AFL.” The firm also invited more former players to come forward and join the action.
Rooke played for Geelong from 2001 to 2010, winning two premierships with the Cats and playing 135 games. He alleges that he suffered 20-30 concussions in his nine-year AFL career.
Max Rooke as an assistant coach at Geelong in 2013.
(Photo: Geelong Cats Facebook)
Other notable footballers such as former Western Bulldog, Liam Picken and former vice-captain for Collingwood’s AFLW side, Emma Grant have recently been in the news after filing concussion-driven civil lawsuits. Both players were forced into retirement as a result of the on-field head trauma they had experienced.
In 2020, former Melbourne Demon, Shaun Smith won a $1.4 million insurance payout after battling the long-term impact of repeated head knocks.
While the concussions that occur in AFL are well-reported, an under-reported statistic is those concussions at community levels, regularly juniors. According to a study published in The Age, concussion is the top cause of hospitalisations in community football since 2013-14, with more than two thirds of these injuries coming in players aged 10-19. There was an 89 percent increase in concussions in local footy from 2012-2019.
With a greater focus on concussion and the long-term impacts it can have on people, it is expected that more people who have been impacted by head trauma will come forward which will put increasing pressure on sporting leagues.
Recently, the AFL released updated concussion guidelines and introduced a five-year strategic plan with a focus on the 11 steps of the return-to-play program. The $25 million investment will see the 12-day protocol implemented at other levels of community football, as well as provide club doctors with a greater understanding of concussion and how to manage it.
While steps like this work to improve the rules and guidelines around concussion, it may be too late, as more players fight for compensation after battling concussion-related mental health issues.
This is the first major lawsuit relating to concussion since the successful 2013 appeal against the National Football League (NFL) from former players who had suffered as a result of the negligence of the NFL. The payout from this case was reportedly near $1 billion and it had a substantial impact on rugby of all levels.
When speaking about concussion, mental health is closely connected with a disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) which can be developed as a result of repeated head trauma from contact sports such as the AFL and NFL. CTE is a neurodegenerative disease that can only be diagnosed once a person has died, and an autopsy has been done on their brain. American football was the first to make this link back in 2017 with 99 percent of players sampled showing symptoms of having CTE.
In December last year, the Senate announced a Parliamentary inquiry surrounding the growing fears for CTE and football in Australia. This inquiry will look to uncover further information about CTE and its link with Australian sport, as well as look at the long-term effects of concussions.
In the last few years, former AFL greats, Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer (84), Danny Frawley (56) and Shane Tuck (38) were all posthumously diagnosed with CTE.
As cases of CTE continue to rise and there is more information about the link between concussion and mental health, sporting leagues are expected to face some more legal troubles in the future.
Comments