Could CTE spell the end of Grassroots footy?

There are too many factors - lifestyle, people living longer, bigger players and of course each persons tolerance of head hits would be different. Some old RL players are OK well into their 80's and some from the same era have trouble from their 50's.

Any Trans/Bi Folk out there following Union and the State of Origin? Last nights game looked like one Giant CTE. I don't understand how they get players to sign up for that sort of abuse. Head injuries in Rugby and AFL tend to be accidental. League makes it look like brain damage is the objective, or at the very least, a pre-requisite to play.

As an interior offensive lineman, I'm often lined up only inches away from an opponent, or have a linebacker bear down on me at speed whilst I'm stationary. A decade or so ago, the common practice was to lead with the helmet and meet force with force - but this has changed dramatically. Contact is almost always now first with the hands or forearms (or in the case of a big hit, the shoulder), with head contact incidental. It's somewhat ironic that when I first moved to gridiron from rugby I had to have techniques like 'cheek to cheek' tackling and leading with the shoulder coached out of me - and now they are being introduced as 'new'. We're now teaching the kids exactly the same techniques I had to be cured of years ago.

You must of missit

How do you know this insider when nobody else does. Happy to be proven wrong but where's the evidence.

I think this is another ‘keep my little Johnnie or Jessica in cotton wool’ assault on contact sport which is disliked by many teachers and mothers. Or possibly people don't want their kids to become drooling vegetables in later life? I agree with the rest of what you've said, I'd add that professional sport is so much higher in intensity and repetition of hits that it's a bit silly to compare it with young (and not so young) blokes (and girls) who train twice a week and play one or two games a week for half a year. The American football players who've been in the news with CET tend to be running backs or linebackers from the late 70s, 80s and early 90s era of the NFL (so far) - an era where it was common practice to lead with the head into contact. I think it's probably a lot less harmful at junior ages and amateur level, and yet who can tell?

But the whole point is, we know what old footballers are like. Anyone who didn't think they were risking brain damage by being whacked around the head must have been a bit simple already. And the ratio of old footballers to ones that look punch drunk looks pretty small. All we know now to add to our knowledge is what the brain damage looks like. And going forward 3 things will also lesson the impact. The games rules to stop head high contact have for stricter. Concussions are taken more seriously and rest and recovery mandated. And people who have got a few head whacks will retire earlier ala Berrick Barnes.

Takes too long.

Reporting afl propaganda achieves not a lot joy of x. Where I live afl participation is dropping through the floor. Clubs are folding regularly. It’s the way things are these days. Lifestyles are changing. There has been a huge pick up in female participation across all codes. That will change over time as well. And the more footy codes attempt to soften their games to minimise things like concussion the less appealing they’ll be to the viewer. Just all part of the passing parade.

Actually no, elvis. Apparently CTE can only be diagnosed on autopsy. Before death you may have your suspicions though.

I’m interested to hear, JoX, that CTE can, as you say, occur from sub-concussive events. Not just head clashes, high tackles, heading a ball, being hit in the head by a bouncer, being hit in the head in boxing, ramming you helmet-covered head into another player (NFL) etc., but repeated sub-concussive traumas – even times when your body suddenly stops moving but your brain doesn’t stop inside your head – sort of a whiplash effect. There seems to be an emphasis here on “repeated.” My source for this was a discussion on the “Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe” episode 629, July 19, 2017 from 18:15 to 32:05 (available on iTunes or at https://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcasts/episode-629.) They refer there also to a New York Times article : “NFL Brains” and a PBS Frontline (USA) documentary “League of Denial.” https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/league-of-denial/

Surely a huge factor on the cost to the NFL is they knowingly hid the information rather than act.

Pac man and space invaders.

I will not let my kids play outdoor sports of any kind. Thank god we have smart phones and games like fortnight to take them away from such awful competitive activities.

Guys: Millions of young men have played rugby, years ago most were well educated and went on to become doctors, lawyers, other professionals and leaders of industries where many excelled. If this was a big problem do you think that, in a close knit society, that was the rugby club of years ago a problem like this would not be highlighted and dealt with? I wore a scrum cap for most of my playing years but it didn't stop me getting knocked out on a couple of occasions once causing temporary blindness (~30secs) and a night in the hospital. I think this is another 'keep my little Johnnie or Jessica in cotton wool' assault on contact sport which is disliked by many teachers and mothers. In American football where their head protection is far greater and can cause more damage, then I understand the concerns, but this is not the case in rugby union. We have a recent problem with gang tackling and players having head clashes due to more than one defender in the tackle. This needs to be addressed along with neck twisting and a couple of areas ie head on tackling technique. I would be surprised if all but a very small minority got CTE, I want to see the data before any more overreaction moves are made to protect players from an almost mythical injury in rugby union.