Source : ABC NEWS
As the AFL and Geelong continue to face questions about their handling of a concussion issue, Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge believes players are looked after better than ever.
The Cats avoided any sanction from the AFL for making a deal with a player who had a history of concussions that required him to assume all legal responsibility for future brain trauma.
Geelong had a secret arrangement in 2024, which was revealed on Thursday, with an undisclosed player who signed the agreement in a bid to exonerate the club and its medical staff from future court action.
Calling it a “complex and unique case”, the AFL insisted it was “satisfied that the letter was not used by Geelong to allow a medically unfit player to return to play”.
The Cats also issued a statement, saying they would remove the waiver from the contract.
Geelong avoided punishment and said it would remove the waiver in the unnamed player’s contract. (Getty Images/AFL Photos: Michael Willson)
“The club was not attempting to vary the terms of the AFL standard playing contract, or attempting to avoid its responsibilities under health and safety laws,” the Geelong statement read.
When asked about the bombshell revelation out of Geelong, Beveridge spoke generally about concussion rather than commenting directly on the Cats’ case.
“I think every player wants to keep playing until your boots fall off,” Beveridge said after the Bulldogs’ shock loss to North Melbourne.
“All I know that when I was playing, we all had concussions, and if I had to sign a waiver to keep playing, I would have.
“We’re so careful with our players now.
“The way we train, as far as the duty of care goes, we really look after them.”
Kangaroos coach Alastair Clarkson, who earlier this year sprayed insurance company Zurich for rejecting concussion insurance claims, insisted he knew nothing about Geelong’s case.
New AFL Commission chair Craig Drummond was the president of the Geelong board at the time the deal was struck.
Drummond was not mentioned in the statement from the AFL.
Deciding not to front the media to explain the situation, Drummond issued a three-line statement on Thursday night calling concussion a “challenging medical and legal issue for all contact sports globally”.
Multiple AFL players, including former Melbourne star Angus Brayshaw, champion West Coast defender Jeremy McGovern, premiership Magpie Nathan Murphy and former number one pick Paddy McCartin, were forced into retirement due to repeated concussions.
Several deceased players, including Danny Frawley, Shane Tuck and Graham “Polly” Farmer, were posthumously diagnosed with degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
There is also a multi-million-dollar concussion class action case against the AFL, led by former Geelong defender Max Rooke, in the Supreme Court of Victoria that is set to go to trial next year.
AAP
