THERE’S nothing like September - spring has started, backyard barbecues are being cleaned off and fired up and the legacy of the winter sporting season, finals and grand finals, are underway.
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So it’s timely health professionals are warning people about the dangers of head injuries during these matches when fully-charged emotion has the potential to cloud good judgement.
Here’s the scenario: the match is tight, the spectators want blood and there’s limited time on the clock. Then the star player is cleaned up.
He’s lying on the ground dazed, can’t tell the trainer what day it is or which direction his side is running toward but is nonetheless insisting on staying on the field.
Is the temptation for the coach and his teammates to let him? Does the trainer turn a blind eye to the player asking who the big bunny is up in the sky?
The temptation might but there, but common sense should easily outweigh it.
The player might be too silly (from the knock) to have his best interest at heart so it’s up to those around him to step in and get him off the field for the rest of the match.
Health professionals have long warned of the danger of playing on after a head knock.
Boxing took the matter seriously years ago, forcing fighters to stand down for a period of time after a knockout blow and the National Rugby League is also now taking action.
This week the NRL fined the Cowboys $20,000 after failing to recognise Tariq Sims’ concussion - high stakes in a professional sport.
A premiership is a great thing, it’s an unforgettable moment players share after working hard all season - unless of course they were knocked senseless, played on, were knocked out again and sustained serious neurological damage.
Then the memory is blurred and hardly worth it.