With recent reports of legal action in rugby union and football capturing the headlines, Morgan Sports Law hosted ‘Head in the Game: Concussion & Sport’, a two-day online conference to address the key questions about concussion in sport. Importantly, this event reflected upon the calls for change and answered questions about the pending litigation.

Across four interactive webinars, the event considered the impact of concussion on athletes, discussed the way it is being handled in both rugby union and football, and addressed the legal ramifications in greater detail.

Webinar Recordings

Each session was recorded and is now available to watch. If you would like access to any of the webinar recordings, please email events@morgansl.com.

Session Details

1. Concussion in Sport – Watch Recording­­­

This session discussed what concussion is, how it is caused and identified, and the implications it can have for athletes. It also considered the differences in male/female concussions and considered how sport is responding to the issue. This session highlighted the impact that concussion has on athletes and served as an introduction to the later discussions about concussion in football and rugby.

HOST: Ben Cisneros (Morgan Sports Law)

GUEST SPEAKERS:

• Dr Adam White (Executive Director, Concussion Legacy Foundation)
• Ellie Furneaux (Former British skeleton athlete)
• Peter Robinson (Campaigning to raise awareness of dangers of concussion & brain injuries for young sportspeople)
• Stephanie Adams (Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh)

2. Concussion in Football – Watch Recording

Our second session discussed the risks of concussion particular to football; the sport’s response to date; and how it should act moving forward. This included discussing the link between football and CTE/dementia, concussion substitutes and possible limits on heading the ball.

HOST: Tom Seamer (Morgan Sports Law)

GUEST SPEAKERS:

• Dawn Astle (Co-founder of The Jeff Astle Foundation)
• Dr Michael Grey (Reader in Rehabilitation Neuroscience at University of East Anglia)
• Dr Vincent Gouttebarge (Former professional footballer, Chief Medical Officer at FIFPRO)

3. Concussion in Rugby – Watch Recording

This third webinar discussed the risks of concussion particular to rugby; the sport’s response to date; and how it needs to act moving forward. This included discussing whether there is a link between rugby and CTE; whether World Rugby acted too late; the sufficiency of the Head Injury Assessment protocol; the High Tackle Framework; and whether more can yet be done.

HOST: Ben Cisneros (Morgan Sports Law)

GUEST SPEAKERS

• Dr Barry O’Driscoll (Former medical advisor to World Rugby)
• Dave Attwood (Bristol Bears & England rugby player)
• Kat Merchant (Former England rugby player & World Cup winner)
• Dr Liz Williams (Senior lecturer in biomechanics & research scientist at the University of Swansea)

4. Concussion & Litigation – Watch Recording

In the final session we discussed the legal implications of concussion in greater detail, covering the reported pending litigation and the prospects of successfully making such claims.

HOST: Tom Seamer (Morgan Sports Law) 

GUEST MODERATOR:  Sam Peters (Journalist)

GUEST SPEAKERS:

• Adria Lamba (Attorney, Holland & Knight (USA))
• Prof. Jack Anderson (Professor and Director of Sports Law Studies at the University of Melbourne)
• Jamie Cudmore (Former professional rugby player, Canada and Clermont Auvergne, and co-founder of Progressive Rugby & the Rugby Safety Network)
• Tom Mountford (Barrister, Blackstone Chambers)

Questions

If you have any questions about this event, please reach out to our team at events@morgansl.com.

RELATED CONTENT
 

CONCUSSION IN SPORT: WHAT DID, OR SHOULD, GOVERNING BODIES HAVE KNOWN?

An article to consider the way that the scientific understanding of repeated concussions/CTE has evolved over time, in the context of the reported litigation in rugby (and football).