Gary Ablett Senior sues Geelong, Hawks and AFL

[terry_bright]

As good a footballer Ablett snr was (IMO the best in my lifetime), he was at best a loose and erratic character and at times I wondered if he was all there.

To play devil's advocate here, what if he had issues all along or before playing professional football. How can that be determined or proven?

Thinking out aloud, maybe the AFL should start scanning the brains of all footballers from draft age upwards on a regular basis.

 

[standupand]

It'll be a game with zero contact then.

I don't see why it has to be. But if that is what it takes, why not?

 

[standupand]

It is actually a complicated space with a huge amount of research going on at the moment. The answer is we simply dont know how to fully avoid concussions impact conctact sports. There is no answer or quality treatment at present.

Alot of the research is actually where the lawsuits themselves are now emerging from, because we can link these symptoms mtpomz and problems back to historical concussions

Sure, but why wait for the research to tell you with relative certainty that you'll get cte if you play footy or for the evidence about how long you need to rest etc when already anyone can see that there are simply too many concussions occurring every week and it's a massive risk? Right now there are 12 players across the league out due to concussion.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Sure, but why wait for the research to tell you with relative certainty that you'll get cte if you play footy or for the evidence about how long you need to rest etc when already anyone can see that there are simply too many concussions occurring every week and it's a massive risk? Right now there are 12 players across the league out due to concussion.

So what is the solution? Dont play footy??

 

[Baudolino]

I don't see why it has to be. But if that is what it takes, why not?

Gee, I dunno, maybe because it would instantly ruin the sport and make it 1000 times less entertaining?

 

[Cataholic]

Gee, I dunno, maybe because it would instantly ruin the sport and make it 1000 times less entertaining?

It'd just become touch footy

 

[standupand]

So what is the solution? Dont play footy??

I don't have the answers, but just gotta be open to serious changes to the way the game is played.

 

[Cataholic]

I don't have the answers, but just gotta be open to serious changes to the way the game is played.

Integrating change, whilst maintaining the character and people's love for the game, will be a delicate balance.

 

[#23 Hill]

I drank a lot of booze and did a fair bit of head banging back in the day. Maybe I should get one of those MEG scans.

 

[standupand]

Gee, I dunno, maybe because it would instantly ruin the sport and make it 1000 times less entertaining?

Take gaelic football as an example. Tackling is limited to tackling the ball. You can jostle and make body contact if it's an attempt to win the ball, but you can't hold or pull or rugby tackle etc. Is that game "ruined" because of it? Many might even think it's more entertaining and free-flowing than aussie rules?

 

[Cataholic]

Take gaelic football as an example. Tackling is limited to tackling the ball. You can jostle and make body contact if it's an attempt to win the ball, but you can't hold or pull or rugby tackle etc. Is that game "ruined" because of it? Many might even think it's more entertaining and free-flowing than aussie rules?

It's not the game so many of us grew up with, so it would be a hard sell I reckon

 

[Cataholic]

I drank a lot of booze and did a fair bit of head banging back in the day. Maybe I should get one of those MEG scans.

Following the Pies is a sure sign of a problem I reckon

 

[#23 Hill]

Following the Pies is a sure sign of a problem I reckon

Good to know. Don't have to bother with the scan now.

 

[Jumping Jack]

Not sure the lawyers acting for the players are being smart using Ablett Senior as the profile player to lead this?

• Had a well known boxing background in his junior days prior to becoming a VFL / AFL player
• Had a well known battle with heavy drugs in the latter playing days which got worse once he retired

Good luck prosecuting that argument and saying that football was the primary cause of any brain damage.

 

[Baudolino]

Take gaelic football as an example. Tackling is limited to tackling the ball. You can jostle and make body contact if it's an attempt to win the ball, but you can't hold or pull or rugby tackle etc. Is that game "ruined" because of it? Many might even think it's more entertaining and free-flowing than aussie rules?

Go follow gaelic or something else with less contact then if you want to watch a different sport with less risk of injury attached.

It's absolutely bizarre that anyone would be so cavalier about fundamentally changing the nature of a sport they spend hundreds of hours of their life following precisely because they like it so much as a spectacle.

And yes, eliminating tackling from the sport would dramatically diminish the spectacle of the game. That goes without saying. Lol. I would stop following the sport and so would a lot of other people.

 

[cats_09]

Not sure the lawyers acting for the players are being smart using Ablett Senior as the profile player to lead this?

• Had a well known boxing background in his junior days prior to becoming a VFL / AFL player
• Had a well known battle with heavy drugs in the latter playing days which got worse once he retired

Good luck prosecuting that argument and saying that football was the primary cause of any brain damage.

Not sure Ablett is actually part of the class action by that larger group of players

He seems to be going this alone, with it reportedly directed towards the clubs as well as the league

The larger class action seems more against the league

 

[Jumping Jack]

Not sure Ablett is actually part of the class action by that larger group of players

He seems to be going this alone, with it reportedly directed towards the clubs as well as the league

The larger class action seems more against the league

Yeah fair enough - saw an interview last night and it was suggested that he was part of the broader class action.

Either way, just making an observation that he's pointing into the wind while relieving himself.

 

[#23 Hill]

How much money do you think each player is looking at getting roughly?

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Would you prefer the players to suffer in silence with their medical conditions and shrugs their shoulders at the responsibilities of a multi billion dollar industry ?

The players are being made out to be money hungry opportunistic campaigners without actually considering their quality of life moving forward

Sad to see but not suprising

The players know the risks and choose to participate anyway-thats where the liability sits.

 

[Goggin Our Best]

Re Ablett -yes he handed plenty out - but to be fair he and Leigh Mathews - their classic hip and shoulder bumps - none better

But Ablett took and copped plenty of punishment - i can remember in the 1st half of the 89 GF - Gary Ayres hit/bumped Ablett seriously hard - and Ablett shook his head - get rid of cobwebs - and Cometti said words to the effect - this bloke is indestructible

I was alot younger and naive back then - but that was my view of him - whatever they hit him with - and seriously hard at times - it had no affect on him - he was like a mini superman - you could not knock him out

And when he dished it out - i enjoyed it - because they had called Geelong soft for years - and i thought well cop this

As for his claim - i hope he gets a nice monetary windfall - because to me that squares up the books a bit . You look at someone like someone like Luke Dalhaus - very ordinary player - reportably on 50k - 600k - where as Ablett a sensational player was on nothing like that - and he did cop some brutal hits - and he has got his MRI scans backing this up - then if Gary gets a nice Superannuation cheque out of this - then good luck to him

 

[Cataholic]

Good to know. Don't have to bother with the scan now.

All good mate. We sympathise

 

[spike101]

What if said drug taking was a result of a player using drugs as a coping mechanism for the brain juries received?

What if the drug taking pre dated the brain injuries?

 

[Cataholic]

What if the drug taking pre dated the brain injuries?

Proof?

 

[spike101]

Proof?

That’s why it was a what if?

 

[Cataholic]

That’s why it was a what if?

You're needling at his character. Cut to the chase.