Gordon Taylor appears before MPs examining concussion in sport
22 April 2021
The role of players’ organisations in dealing with concussion in sport will be addressed in the third session of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee's inquiry.
- Watch Parliamentary TV: Concussion in sport
- Inquiry: Concussion in sport
- Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Witnesses
Tuesday 27 April, virtual meeting
At 10.00am
- Gordon Taylor OBE, Chief Executive, Professional Footballers’ Association
- Damian Hopley, Chief Executive, Rugby Players Association
- Paul Struthers, Director, Professional Players Federation
At 11.00am
- Dr John Etherington CBE, Medical Director & Consultant Rheumatologist at Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine UK
- Dr Richard Sylvester, Consultant Neurologist at Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health
MPs will consider medical advice given to players about the risks of concussive head trauma, its treatment, and attempts to have brain injury in football classified as an industrial injury. The welfare of players affected will be addressed, along with how grassroots sports are supported.
The session will also hear from organisations representing specialist medical expertise in sports medicine on issues such as whether it is possible to define a ‘safe limit’ for heading a ball, the evidence threshold for sports science, and the risks faced by children.
The first evidence session heard from leading experts consultant neuropathologist Professor Willie Stewart and neurodegenerative disease specialist Professor Craig Ritchie. At the second session first-hand accounts of brain injury came from two former Team GB athletes, and campaigner Dawn Astle, with questions to the FA, World Rugby, Team GB and the Rugby Football Union on their response to the available evidence on the links between head trauma in sport and neurodegenerative disease.
Further information
Image: Alasdair Middleton/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic