Concussion and head trauma in contact sports should be investigated by parliament, say the Greens concussion in sports

A Bundestag committee will investigate concussions and repeated head injuries in contact sports, with the Greens saying they have the support of Labor and the coalition to conduct the inquiry.

The push follows growing concerns about chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, the neurodegenerative disease associated with repetitive head injuries and concussions that is increasingly associated with contact and collision sports.

There are also questions about the influence of the Concussion in Sport Group, an international body of experts that provides sports codes around the world, including the AFL and NRL, with blueprints on how to deal with head injuries.

The study proposed by Greens would look at concussion and recurrent head injuries in contact sports at all levels, for all genders and ages.

“Repeated head trauma results in a lifelong injury,” said Green Party sports spokeswoman Senator Lidia Thorpe.

“Athletes at all levels need to be made aware of concussion symptoms and encouraged to speak up without being penalized. Sports organizations need to be transparent about the evidence influencing their concussion policies. The investigation will examine practices that undermine recovery timelines and disclosure of potential risks.”

Thorpe plans to introduce the motion to establish the inquiry in the Senate on Thursday.

In their 2016 consensus statement, the Concussion in Sport Group said there is no proven cause-and-effect relationship between concussions and degenerative brain diseases like CTE, although respected neurologists and neuroscientists say there is a link. The condition can only be definitively diagnosed by autopsy.

In March, former AFL concussion doctor Paul McCrory resigned as chair of the Concussion in Sport group following allegations of plagiarism. With McCrory as an advisor, the AFL was under increasing pressure to recognize the risk of CTE to players and take steps to prevent it by better protecting players from concussion.

However, McCrory has been accused of downplaying the risks of CTE. That year, the AFL began a full and independent review of McCrory’s concussion work after the league was unable to answer questions from Guardian Australia about his research.

Review results released in October found that a large AFL study that promised to yield “groundbreaking” insights into concussions resulted in no published research and “confusion” about what happened to tests administered to players with cognitive problems , which prompted the AFL to apologize to the players involved.

However, former players and health experts have expressed concerns that the review does not go far enough.

Thorpe said the inquiry would look at what physical and financial support is available, including compensation mechanisms for players affected by the long-term effects of concussion. Sports officials could be asked to provide evidence.

“Noongar man Graham Farmer was one of the greatest players in AFL history,” she said. “Unfortunately, he was also the first AFL player to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy. We have to make sure we don’t have a new generation of athletes with the same injury.”

The inquiry was supported in writing by Sport Minister Anika Wells and orally by Shadow Sports Minister Anne Ruston, Thorpe said. The committee will report by the end of June 2023.

Neurophysiologist Prof Alan Pearce, who previously claimed McCrory and the AFL had hampered his own research into concussion and CTE in players, said he hoped the investigation would be supported.

“This needs to be treated as a serious occupational health issue,” Pearce said. “Hopefully this investigation will explore what needs to happen to allocate more funding to concussion and CTE research so that we no longer have a small group of people associated with sport driving the research agenda.”

Guardian Australia have repeatedly tried to reach out to McCrory for comment but he has not responded. He was quoted as apologizing for the initial instances of plagiarism and making a statement to Retraction Watch saying his failure to attribute work was a mistake and “not intentional or intentional”.