AFL acknowledges link between head trauma and CTE, in submission to Senate concussion inquiry

The AFL has acknowledged the link between head trauma and the serious neurodegenerative disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), ahead of its appearance at a Senate committee hearing next month.

In a submission to the ongoing inquiry into concussions and repeated head trauma in contact sports, the AFL said it “supports and adopts” the recent statements by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) that accept the link between CTE and head trauma, and were described by campaigners as a tipping point in the debate about the risks of playing contact sport.

“The AFL acknowledges that there is an association between head trauma and neurodegenerative disease (including chronic traumatic encephalopathy – neuropathological change [CTE-NC]),” the submission said.

“The AFL is committed to furthering and supporting research into an increased understanding of concussion (and repeated head impacts), neurodegenerative disease and CTE-NC as may exist in our sport and more generally.”

The NIH position is at odds with the position held by the global Concussion in Sport Group (CISG), the most recent published statements from which argue – counter to the growing body of scientific evidence – that a cause-and-effect relationship “has not yet been demonstrated” between CTE and concussion or exposure to contact sports.

The CISG is supported by the AFL, along with other major sporting codes such as the NRL, World Rugby, Fifa and the IOC, among others.

The AFL’s submission release comes just two weeks after the league released updated concussion guidelines for its elite levels and a new four-year strategic plan for management of concussion.

It also comes close on the heels of two class-action lawsuits filed by former players. One