Sport is ‘marking its own homework’ on brain injury
Angry MPs demand: Up your game on concussion
Sport has been left to ‘mark its own homework’, a Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee investigation into brain injury has found, with the FA and pFA accused of ignoring the issue.
In a report released today, Sportsmail columnist Chris Sutton, who has led this newspaper’s dementia campaign, is hailed for his efforts. Dawn Astle is praised for campaigning while football’s bodies failed to tackle the problem after a coroner said heading the ball killed her father, Jeff, who died from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CtE) in 2002.
Following five evidence-gathering sessions with Mps, the DCMS say they are ‘astounded’ by sport being left by the Health and Safety Executive — the UK’s national regulator for workplace welfare — to regulate itself.
‘the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 places a duty of care on employers to protect the health of workers which should apply equally to footballers and jockeys as well as miners or construction workers,’ the Committee say. ‘the report finds that statutory responsibilities for employees have effectively been delegated to national governing bodies to manage.’
they call for urgent action from the Government and sport bodies to address a ‘long-term failure to reduce the risks’ of brain injury. Among other findings and recommendations, the DCMS say:
there is no overall responsibility within sports to mandate minimum standards for concussion.
the Government should set up a UK-wide minimum standard definition for concussion which all sports must follow.
the Health and Safety Executive should work with sports to establish a national framework for reporting sporting injuries.
UK Sport should pay for a medical officer at every major sporting event. tHIS call for change comes after our campaign was spearheaded by Sutton, who gave evidence to Mps, to fight for football to finally tackle its dementia problem.
With the report, DCMS chair Julian Knight said: ‘We’ve been shocked by evidence from athletes who suffered head trauma, putting their future health on the line in the interests of achieving sporting success for the UK.
‘What is astounding is that when it comes to reducing the risks of brain injury, sport has been allowed to mark its own homework.
‘the Health and Safety Executive is responsible by law, however risk management appears to have been delegated to the national governing bodies, such as the FA. that is a dereliction of duty which must change.
‘the failure by these sporting organisations to address the issue of acquired brain injury is compounded by a lack of action by Government. too often it has failed to take action on player welfare and instead relied on unaccountable sporting bodies.’
Dawn Astle welcomed the report, saying: ‘the issue of dementia in football grew from a flickering ember to a raging fire. As uncomfortable and unsettling as it was for the football authorities, this was the reality.
‘Former players were dying and nobody gave a damn. the DCMS report has finally, after too many years of struggle, given me and my family a bit of hope that change will come, because no longer will the governing bodies be left to their own devices.’
Judith Gates, the founder of Head for Change, the charity pioneering positive change for brain health in sport, said: ‘If we don’t make the required changes now, then when will they be made?’
An FA spokesperson said: ‘We welcome the Select Committee’s report and will work through the recommendations with the relevant stakeholders.’