Academics have claimed that children’s rugby could be a form of abuse due to the risk of serious injury.
Researchers from the universities of Winchester, Nottingham Trent and Bournemouth argue that the risk of serious injury contravenes child abuse laws, the Telegraph reports.
Children and their parents cannot legally give informed consent to participate in high-risk sports, the researchers conclude.
They also suggest that sports organizations have persuaded families to accept that brain injuries are a side effect of competition.
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Sports, Ethics & Philosophy, the academic journal of the British Society for the Philosophy of Sport, is preparing to publish an article distinguishing between sports that cause physical impact and sports that can cause accidental injury. The Times newspaper has also seen the publication.
The paper finds that “blows to the head” can lead to dementia or Parkinson’s and that children who start playing at a younger age are at higher risk of brain trauma than those who start playing at an older age.
Eric Anderson, professor of sport at the University of Winchester, who led the research, told the Times:
Children’s sport should not deliberately damage their brains. They should focus on fun, health and social development, not conditioning them to play elite level sports.
These collisions cause cognitive damage and increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases and dementia, thus damaging a child’s brain. The cultural perception is that hitting a child outside of sport is abuse, but hitting a child in sport is somehow socially acceptable. We are trying to change this. It doesn’t matter what the social context is, the brain is damaged in both cases.
Responding to the allegations, the British Rugby Football Union (RFU) stated that player safety and health is their top priority.
The statement said:
The RFU and the England Rugby Football Schools Association work closely to support teachers and coaches with guidance and resources, particularly around player safety and health.
Rugby for young people in schools or clubs in the UK is available in different forms: Contact, low contact and non-contact. Rugby has been a pioneer in concussion and injury surveillance, education and law changes, using evidence to proactively manage player welfare.
Playing rugby offers significant physical and mental health benefits, as well as the life skills that come from playing a team sport with strong values. In an environment of declining physical activity and a global obesity epidemic in children, we believe rugby has a role to play in keeping people active, healthy and engaged.
