NZ Warriors Rugby League

The National Rugby League and other sporting bodies need to move forward with strategies for prevention. The NRL is making the right noises, and taking small steps. They’re educating themselves. They’re listening to experts. They acknowledge there’s an issue. The data is in: repeated concussion causes long term brain damage.

Parents and kids need to know. The media needs to ask current players are they are aware of these things. Are today’s players enacting preventative measures? Have they read the test results of their peers in the previous generations?

What are the clubs doing? What is the Rugby League Players Association, the union, doing? Health and safety is paramount. It’s duty of care. It’s about the quality of people’s lives.

I do some work for the NRL in a theatre sports program. We go around to clubs and talk about awkward issues: misogyny, depression, suicide, drug use, social media. The league is on the front foot. It’s progressive.

And now we need to incorporate brain damage into the conversation. We have to talk about it. We can’t ignore it. And the players, like all of us, have to take responsibility for their own health.