HOLD THE BACK PAGE:THE 'C' word in sport has too often been considered akin to a state secret, with usually the less said about it the better.
Such an approach to the issue of concussion has been irresponsible and the debate on the issue this past week – prompted by the honest and graphic stories of rugby players John Fogarty and Bernard Jackman – should raise the awareness of the problem and make those who should know better lead by example.
It’s the responsibility of those on the sideline (managers, coaches, selectors etc) to ensure that the proper medical attention is given ASAP to any player in any code who they suspect might be concussed and the adage of “better safe than sorry” should be the norm rather than the exception. Some might not like to hear it, but a player’s future health is far more important than the winning of any match.
Listening to Darragh Maloney with former Leinster hooker Bernard Jackman and sports journalist Brendan Fanning on RTÉ Radio’s Sport at 7 on Wednesday evening was an education on the subject and I hope it served as an ear-opening as much as an eye-opening experience for anyone tuned in.
While rugby is the team sport on this side of the Atlantic where concussion is a genuine issue, the awareness debate here can learn from a groundbreaking study by a medical publication in Canada Neurological Focus which this week also released its findings on the very same subject matter. In this case, the sport is Ice Hockey and the report uncovered some rather alarming head injury/concussion data and trends that raised many questions about the safety and well-being of teenagers and young adults participating in the sport.
In the medical report in Canada, where Ice Hockey is a major cause of sports-related concussion, researchers followed two unnamed men’s junior ice hockey teams for 52 games and found the incidents of concussion are seven times more common than previously reported for players in their late-teens and early-20s and that many of those closely involved with the sport aren’t taking the injuries seriously.
On its findings, the lead author, Dr Paul Echlin, reported: “The aftermath of a concussion can impact memory, judgment, social conduct, reflexes, speech, balance and co-ordination. Epidemiological studies have suggested an association between sport concussions and both immediate and later-life cognitive impairment. As such, this is a public health issue that needs to be taken more seriously by players, parents, coaches and medical professionals.”
The Hockey Concussion Education Project (HCEP) was conducted during the 2009-2010 league with 67 men, aged from 16 to 21, assessed prior to the start of the league.
Then, during the league, concussion surveillance was done at each regular-season game by an independent doctor along with a number of independent, non-medical observers.
Among the key findings were:
17players suffered a total of 21 concussions during the 52 observed games.
29per cent of players suffered a second or recurrent concussion during the study period.
88per cent of the players with a diagnosed concussion admitted to having suffered at least one concussion in the past.
As Echlin observed in his summing up, “this study showed a disturbing lack of compliance by the athletes to undergo requested neuropsychological evaluations and multiple physician visits, as well as a lack of understanding about the seriousness of concussion.
“Complaints from players, coaches and parents about this testing gave further credence to the importance of raising awareness about the serious long-term implications of concussions through education, which does appear to be beneficial according to our findings.”
He added: “The reluctance to report concussion symptoms may result from cultural factors, as expressed in several of the case studies – athletes demonstrate perceived toughness to their parents, coaches, team-mates and peers by playing through an injury, and the belief of the athlete that he or she is invincible, so winning overrides any consideration of the effect of the injury upon long-term health. It is imperative to bring about a cultural and philosophical change in this regard through stepped-up education efforts and enforcement of concussion protocols.
“At risk is something far more precious than winning a game, and that is the future health and well-being of thousands of young athletes.”
All of which would indicate that there is a common thread in attitudes across different sports and all around the world.
In speaking out here about the issue, Messrs Jackman and Fogarty have added to our education. Let’s hope it is the start of things, and not the end of the matter.
So You Think O'Brien stands still?
THE RUMOUR mill of the past few weeks had been awash with reports of jockey Johnny Murtagh and trainer Aidan O'Brien going their separate ways for whatever reasons.
Who knows if Murtagh jumped ship before he was pushed in making public the split in midweek, but – while it lasted – the team of jockey and trainer proved to be one of the most formidable that ever graced the Sport of Kings. Seeing Murtagh navigating horses such as Fame And Glory, Mastercraftsman, Rip Van Winkel et al to wins in big races was a thing of beauty.
Still, barely was the split revealed by Murtagh and there were signs that things in Ballydoyle will simply move on with the impending arrival to the gallops of the Australian racing sensation So You Think. The horse is due to arrive here in Ireland before Christmas and will target next year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in Paris as one of its main goals.
A son of High Chaparral, an old Ballydoyle favourite, the horse's original owners – Malaysian billionaires Dato Tan Chin Nan and Tunku Ahmad Tahaya – have retained a small interest in the stallion which is valued in the region of €45 million.
The acquisition of the New Zealand-bred horse by Coolmore Stud is further proof of its desire to remain very much at the top of the racing game, although trainer O'Brien revealed that a racing plan was not yet set for So You Think. The likelihood is that he will be aimed at the Prince of Wales, the King George . . . and, down the line, the Prix de l'Arc.
In 12 starts in Australia, So You Think recorded five Group One wins (including two Cox Plates) and finished his campaign there with a third place finish in the recent Melbourne Cup, after which the horse was sold to Coolmore Stud – a sale which prompted widespread disappointment in the Australian racing community and most especially to its old trainer Bart Cummings.
The question is, will its regular jockey Steven Arnold – who was So You Think's jockey in guiding it to Cox Plate success – be tempted to make the journey half-way round the globe to resume the partnership once it starts racing in Europe?
One way or another, Australia's loss is very much Ireland's gain.
McEnaney hard sell might get harder
SOME MAY view the Kilkenny football manager’s job as the poisoned chalice of any managerial position in the GAA and, given the resources given to the big ball game in that county compared to hurling, such a theory probably holds some truth.
But, given how seriously they take their football in Meath, the real poisoned chalice is in managing the Royals.
All you have to do is look at how recent incumbents have been treated – Eamonn Barry, Colm Coyle and, still so fresh in the memory, Eamonn O’Brien – to know that even those who have as much passion as any supporter are afforded very little sympathy and no latitude if the Sam Maguire isn’t brought home to the county.
Just over two years ago, when Luke Dempsey was promised the job and didn’t get it, Meath were on the verge of making a brave decision to take in an outsider to do the job.
Now, just over two months since O’Brien was shunted aside, the Meath County Board has stood by its own convictions and convinced the clubs that the time is not only right but vital to take in an outsider to do the job.
It’s a brave move (even braver than it would have been if Dempsey was brought in), and you can be sure that there will be more lying in the long grass biding their time and even hoping that Séamus McEnaney will fail, just as everyone else who has tried to fill Seán Boylan’s shoes has done.
The public show of support from the clubs in overwhelmingly approving McEnaney for a three-year term may demonstrate that things have changed in Meath.
The true indicator, though, will only come with results – and, given expectations in the county, that means an All-Ireland. Whether the players exist to produce a return to the halcyon era of Boylan is a different matter entirely.
McEnaney will have to prove to the supporters that he not alone speaks their language and understands their passion about Gaelic football, but that he has a PhD in such matters.
It has been a hard sell for the county board to get their man, it could be a harder sell to make sure he guides the ship for the full three years.
Where's the magic of boxing gone?
F I N A L S T R A W:I REMEMBER the time a black man appeared at the top of our road in Edenmore on Dublin's northside and the word spread like wildfire that it was Muhammad Ali, who, we innocently assumed, had for some reason taken time out from preparing for his fight with Al Blue Lewis in Croke Park that night.
It was July of 1972 and, of course, it wasn't Ali at all – but that gentleman was surrounded by pre-teenagers who wanted to believe that it was the great man himself and he laughed and took in the adulation as if he were dancing like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.
That was the magic which heavyweight boxing had for everyone at that time, when Ali really was The Greatest – and he had a magic which transcended all sports and reached everywhere.
What on earth has happened to the heavyweight division, never mind the sport of boxing itself? Does anyone really care what happens in this latest 'Battle of Britain' when David Haye defends his "world" heavyweight title against Audley Harrison in Manchester tonight? Those who care will have to pay through the nose to watch two fighters who would never have got close to Ali, never mind in the same ring.
McIlroy decision boosts European Tour
RORY McILROY didn’t make it to the Manchester derby the other night, instead he was stuck at home in Co Down nursing a chest infection and armed with antibiotics.
Still, there’s no truth in the rumour that avid Red Devil fan McIlroy made his decision not to take up full membership of the US Tour so that he could make it to Old Trafford more frequently . . . it had more to do with personal considerations and an awareness that he has many more years left on tour and that all good things come to those who wait.
McIlroy’s decision, nonetheless, to base himself mainly on the European Tour – while also taking up invites to play in the States – is a huge fillip to his home tour who were facing the prospect of the Ulsterman making only rare appearances on this side of the Atlantic.
