I have been writing about concussion and CTE prevention in professional sports, especially the Australian Football League (AFL), for a while. The current controversy in Australia is concerning a risk waiver. This debate should generate interest in workers’ compensation and occupational health and safety. This guest post from Eric Windholz (there have been others) is …
Over the last couple of decades, the Workplace Health and Safety Show has evolved from a trade show tacked onto occupational health and safety (OHS) conferences to an independent entity. But is it any good? I spent a few hours there last week to find out. The Workplace Health and Safety Show is a two-day … Continue reading “From Sidekick to Spotlight: WHS Show Steps Up, But a Few Big Players are missing”
This weekend is the International Workers Memorial Day. In Victoria, in particular and in Australia more generally, it is highly likely that the issue of Industrial Manslaughter laws will be raised as part of a trade union campaign. Dr Gerry Ayers, the OHS&E Manager of one of the branches of the CFMEU, features in an …
On the evening of 28 April 2016, (Australian time), Professor Mike Behm of North Carolina, Ciaran McAleenan in Ireland and others coordinated an online discussion about the importance of International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD). Dr Gerry Ayers was scheduled to participate but was beaten by technical problems. However he shared his thoughts about the memorial and … Continue reading “Gerry Ayers on International Workers Memorial Day”
The risk of concussion in professional sports is getting an increasing amount of attention, and the prevention of harm is starting to be considered, but the consequences of the changes required are being resisted or, perhaps more accurately, dreaded. A recent article by John Hennessy of the Community Concussion Research Foundation (CCRF) in the Australian …
The death of 23‑year‑old footballer Nick Lowden should force the Australian Football League (AFL) and every sporting body that claims to care about player welfare to confront the fact that the risks of brain injury in Australian football are no longer mysterious, emerging, or debatable. They are foreseeable, documented, and cumulative. And once a risk …
Most countries and regions seem to have a sport of cultural significance. Australia has several, but all professional sports are played in workplaces, the players are employees, and the sporting clubs are employers. Most have a supervisory and administrative body. Recently, an Australian Rules Football player, Elijah Hollands, displayed signs of a mental health condition …
