Gary Ablett Senior sues Geelong, Hawks and AFL

[cats_09]

I’m glad you “own” a board.

I'm guessing you didn't bother reading previous posts & picked the once you thought was the easiest to reply to

Take note of the post below I'm quoting and I'll let you decide the best course of action going forward - delete your previous efforts which clearly go against this warning & then post no more, or ignore this warning and pay the consequences...

Just gonna cut some of this off now.

Discussion of GAS and his physical condition due to on field action are fully warranted and accepted.

Discussion of off field matters will not be accepted or remain in the thread.

Its well documented elsewhere what happened - and was, is and will forever be a tragic event - and if you care to take up that issue, take it elsewhere.

Drive by's and references to start s**t talking will be dealt with harshly. You have been so advised so dont come back sooking about being gone later.

The debate of what happened on field then, and whom if anyone is liable now and what services can be provided to those suffering as a result is a real and well placed debate.

Go Catters

 

[feelinfeline]

We all have a right to be safe in your work environment.

Good luck Gary. I know the family of Shane Tuck is on your side..

Danny Frawley's also.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

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

To make AFL non tackling you will literally have to re write the entire game as so much of the sport revolves around tackling defensively. It will literally be a new game being invented.

 

[Cataholic]

To make AFL non tackling you will literally have to re write the entire game as so much of the sport revolves around tackling defensively. It will literally be a new game being invented.

I can see them setting up an independent panel of medical experts to assess players post concussion, with the power to suspend players until they clear the protocols they impose and govern.

Kind of like the commission that holds boxers back ........

 

[goyoucatters]

To make AFL non tackling you will literally have to re write the entire game as so much of the sport revolves around tackling defensively. It will literally be a new game being invented.

There has to be a meaningful mechanism within the rules of the game for getting the ball back off the opposition. Aside from embracing a 'touch' rule or leaving defending teams to simply sweat on a skill error (both changes that would see me lose interest in the game instantaneously), tackling (in whatever revised form it might eventually take) therefore must remain the lever, unless you want to make the game completely vanilla and of basically no interest to vast swathes of current footy fans.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

I can see them setting up an independent panel of medical experts to assess players post concussion, with the power to suspend players until they clear the protocols they impose and govern.

Kind of like the commission that holds boxers back ........

Love it. I do think this is a very serious situation the AFL and its legal council needs to squash out asap. You cant have every past player and his cat and dog lining up to sue the AFL for millions of dollars collectively on an ongoing basis for head knocks... It is a very serious threat to the longevity of the game.

I want to see AFL thrive and ny children to grow up watching the game of aussie rules, not netball being played with an aussie rules ball on a grass oval.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

There has to be a meaningful mechanism within the rules of the game for getting the ball back off the opposition. Aside from embracing a 'touch' rule or leaving defending teams to simply sweat on a skill error (both changes that would see me lose interest in the game instantaneously), tackling (in whatever revised form it might eventually take) therefore must remain the lever, unless you want to make the game completely vanilla and of basically no interest to vast swathes of current footy fans.

For me it would loose all intensity and physicality. It would not even look like AFL.

The game seems to be at the mercy to an extent of ontoing concussion research emerging globally. Whatever new findings and research emerges will create new legal worries. Its happening globally.

The problem is we literally have no treatment and we are holding the sporting codes accountable. Its a problem with almost jo solution but alot of blame.

 

[Cataholic]

Love it. I do think this is a very serious situation the AFL and its legal council needs to squash out asap. You cant have every past player and his cat and dog lining up to sue the AFL for millions of dollars collectively on an ongoing basis for head knocks... It is a very serious threat to the longevity of the game.

I want to see AFL thrive and ny children to grow up watching the game of aussie rules, not netball being played with an aussie rules ball on a grass oval.

The AFL simply doesn't have enough money to keep paying lawsuits, and its revenue could suffer significantly if it doesn't strike a good balance between protecting the players and preserving the character of the game.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

The AFL simply doesn't have enough money to keep paying lawsuits, and its revenue could suffer significantly if it doesn't strike a good balance between protecting the players and preserving the character of the game.

Right now globally, nobody honestly has the answer to this. We know very little about treating concussions or preventions. All we do for treatment at the moment is rest until symptoms resolve and we know very little about long term impacts. I think we are still a bit of a way off working out best practice both preventative and treatment

These lawsuits are being created because of all the academic research that has come about the past decade into concussion and its long term impact and it’s causing waves throughout sporting codes and giving ammunition and evidence for legal suits which was not available before.

 

[Cataholic]

Right now globally, nobody honestly has the answer to this. We know very little about treating concussions or preventions. All we do for treatment at the moment is rest until symptoms resolve and we know very little about long term impacts. I think we are still a bit of a way off working out best practice both preventative and treatment

These lawsuits are being created because of all the academic research that has come about the past decade into concussion and its long term impact and it’s causing waves throughout sporting codes and giving ammunition and evidence for legal suits which was not available before.

I have no idea how boxing will survive as a sport.....or rugby.....or AFL.....etc

 

[Strange Cat]

I have no idea how boxing will survive as a sport.....or rugby.....or AFL.....etc

There’s no easy answer for contact sport , it’s a shame but people’s lives should be more important than entertainment

Interesting times

 

[Cataholic]

There’s no easy answer for contact sport , it’s a shame but people’s lives should be more important than entertainment

Interesting times

But then humans are thrill seekers, and pursue entertainment in spite of, because of, the risk.

Rock climbing, hang gliding, boxing, bungee jumping, car racing etc.

Risk can be mitigated, but not totally eliminated.

People are well aware of the risk, and their participation says it's one they accept.

 

[Strange Cat]

But then humans are thrill seekers, and pursue entertainment in spite of, because of, the risk.

Rock climbing, hang gliding, boxing, bungee jumping, car racing etc.

Risk can be mitigated, but not totally eliminated.

People are well aware of the risk, and their participation says it's one they accept.

The thing is young people really do lack the long term understanding of a long term consequences

You can explain the dangers and show all the consequences and they will still think it will never happen to them or that it is worth it… are they really equipped to make that kind of inform decisions let alone starting as kids playing the sports ?

 

[Goggin Our Best]

I have no idea how boxing will survive as a sport.....or rugby.....or AFL.....etc

What about soccer - i dont follow it closely these days

But there was a news grab a couple of weeks back - was it Gordon McQueen a top striker of years back - headed the ball alot - and now got all the problems under the sun

 

[Strange Cat]

What about soccer - i dont follow it closely these days

But there was a news grab a couple of weeks back - was it Gordon McQueen a top striker of years back - headed the ball alot - and now got all the problems under the sun

They have banned the underage kids from headers from memory or I may had misread that…even basketball has contact every now and then

 

[Cataholic]

The thing is young people really do lack the long term understanding of a long term consequences

You can explain the dangers and show all the consequences and they will still think it will never happen to them or that it is worth it… are they really equipped to make that kind of inform decisions let alone starting as kids playing the sports ?

But where would we be without that attitude?

It'd be a very small world if everyone had stayed in their village because it was safe, and no-one had sailed over the horizon despite the risk.

 

[Cataholic]

They have banned the underage kids from headers from memory or I may had misread that…even basketball has contact every now and then

How far do you go??

 

[Strange Cat]

How far do you go??

That’s the question isn’t it ..hard one to really come up with if I’m being honest

 

[Cataholic]

That’s the question isn’t it ..hard one to really come up with if I’m being honest

Humans would get bored very quickly indeed if every endeavour was completely risk free.

 

[Partridge]

The thing is young people really do lack the long term understanding of a long term consequences

You can explain the dangers and show all the consequences and they will still think it will never happen to them or that it is worth it… are they really equipped to make that kind of inform decisions let alone starting as kids playing the sports ?

If they're over 18, it's up to them.

They'll never be a shortage of people who think they're superior and have the right to tell them what to do though.

 

[standupand]

To make AFL non tackling you will literally have to re write the entire game as so much of the sport revolves around tackling defensively. It will literally be a new game being invented.

Personally I think that's overstating it a bit. Holding is already against the rules in other contexts such as marking contests. And a game that is very very similar to Aussie rules in Gaelic football already provides us with a good example.

But I'm not going to debate the game as a "spectacle" here as the thread isn't really about that and some other posters, to be frank, seem to be unnecessarily riled up about it.

The point I was making was that some positive things may come from this wave of litigation if it leads to meaningful changes to player safety including to how the game is played.

Quite honestly I find the number of head injuries players currently suffer in the game deeply alarming. Concussion protocols are a good thing, but I think its also time we thought more seriously about what might actually reduce the incidence of concussions in the first place. It may be different rules and hence techniques around tackling. It may be simply reducing congestion, having less players on the field. I don't know.

But it's not like the AFL won't have their own research. One of the most sensible changes in recent times I think was the ruck circle which prevented rucks from going at each other from the length of a fast bowlers run-up and doing their knees.

I really think we shouldn't be so hung up about changes. They happen all the time and it's on all of us to find a way forward so that the game remains one that can be for everyone and that younger generations won't have to think twice about taking it up as a sport because of the serious possibility of developing a devastating brain disease later in life.

 

[Strange Cat]

If they're over 18, it's up to them.

They'll never be a shortage of people who think they're superior and have the right to tell them what to do though.

Fair point but they all start at a much younger age where the consent and informed decisions is much harder …if you cut out the contact at a junior level and keep it at a senior level the skills won’t be there and it affects the entire game

 

[Cataholic]

If they're over 18, it's up to them.

They'll never be a shortage of people who think they're superior and have the right to tell them what to do though.

Participation isn't forced.

 

[Partridge]

Fair point but they all start at a much younger age where the consent and informed decisions is much harder …if you cut out the contact at a junior level and keep it at a senior level the skills won’t be there and it affects the entire game

Take contact out of footy and it's the death of the sport.

 

[Cataholic]

Fair point but they all start at a much younger age where the consent and informed decisions is much harder …if you cut out the contact at a junior level and keep it at a senior level the skills won’t be there and it affects the entire game

That might be the price that has to be paid