Rugby's early onset dementia scandal

This is quite shocking.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/dec/08/steve-thompson-former-rugby-union-players-dementia-landmark-legal-case

This is quite shocking.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/dec/08/steve-thompson-former-rugby-union-players-dementia-landmark-legal-case

World Rugby has reacted very well to the CTE issue. Any head contact is now a yellow card and deliberate head contact is now a red card. Any head contact also triggers a head injury assessment with a temporary sub. That’s about as much as the game can do without changing the sport irreparably. They didn’t engage in the NFL denial and delay tactic.

I’d wager all the CTE cases in this lawsuit were from before the rule change. I’m not saying it’s perfect now, but head contact is far less common with the new rules, and when it does happen it’s diagnosed on the field and treated more aggressively.


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One question is whether CTE is primarily from direct head contact, as opposed to the indirect force of a full body hit.

I assume direct contact is the main issue, though I also assume repeated full body blows can contribute.

Another one:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-11020767/My-world-falling-apart-Ryan-Jones-reveals-heartbreaking-dementia-diagnosis-just-41.html

The New Zealand players who were bitching about cards for Direct head contact during the recent three test series need to read these articles. World Rugby has done so much better than American Football and cycling about dealing with these issues. The current crop of players probably won't have these issues because world rugby is cracking down on tackling. If you:

1. Go in upright
2. Make head contact
3. Demonstrate a degree of recklessness
4. Initiate a high degree of danger

RED CARD plus multi-game suspension.

You can't lead with the head, you can't drop a player on his head, and starting next season the highest point of tackling permitted will be midway from waist to shoulder, to eliminate tackles that ride up to the head.

In addition, players and coaches no longer have discretion over head injury assessments; if the ref says you need your head looked at, you need your head looked at.

The other great thing about Rugby is that the rules are made by referees. Thus, no big financial interest is getting in the way of rule changes.