Collision course for sports
The old rugby league State of Origin promotions said it all: State versus State, Mate versus Mate – No prisoners taken. From kick-off, to time off, it was as gladiatorial as it gets, and much of the matches resembled scenes from Russell Crowe’s Gladiator movie, where as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, Crowe was hellbent on revenge, and brutality was the play of the day.
Fortunately, Gladiator was a movie and sports like American football, rugby league and rugby have moved with the times.
But they are now between a rock and a hard place.
Administrators are trying to find pathways between keeping games hard and tough, making sure there’s crowd enjoyment, showcasing the skills – both on attack and defence – of players, and ensuring player safety by outlawing anything which could have detrimental effects on players long term.
That’s why the Herald story on New Zealand’s first case of an international sporting representative to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head trauma, is a wake-up call for all sports.
The NRL is even considering banning long kick-offs because by the time a player carrying the ball back meets the defensive line, the force of the collision is bone-jarring.
Gone are the days when head-high tackles were encouraged and cheered and shoulder hits received pats on the backs and heads.
Sport by its very nature is gladiatorial and tribal and not played by the fainthearted. But put yourself into the shoes of a parent whose son or daughter has just taken a serious knock to the head or fallen during a match – that could be rugby, league, netball, hockey or any other sport.
The death last week of Beachlands Maraetai rugby player Corey Heather, who died after suffering a head knock, is as tragic as it appears accidental. No amount of rules can prevent every incident.
One of the few things guaranteed in sports is injuries. Almost every athlete from every sport has to deal with getting hurt at some point, but it’s how to limit the extent of those injuries which has now come under the spotlight.
A great All Black captain once said: “We’re not playing tiddlywinks here, mate, this is a contact sport.”
That is true, but we don’t want sport at any level to cause big issues for players later in life either.