A study by English academics has made the stunning conclusion that playing rugby league in school is a form of child abuse.
Professors at three different universities in the UK – Winchester, Nottingham Trent and Bournemouth – labelled both rugby league and rugby union as going against child abuse laws because of the risk of serious injury, The Telegraph has found.
They also claimed that neither children nor their parents can legally give informed consent to take part, with the professors arguing that sporting organisations have effectively groomed both groups into accepting brain injuries caused by the sports.
A professor of sport at the University of Winchester who led the study, Eric Anderson, told The Times: “Sports for children should not intentionally harm their brains. They should focus on fun, health and social development rather than conditioning them to play elite-level sport.
“These collisions cause cognitive harm and increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases and dementia; they are therefore abusive to a child’s brain. Cultural perception is that striking a child outside sport is abuse but striking a child in sport is somehow socially acceptable. We are trying to change that. It doesn’t matter what the social context is, the brain is damaged in both.”
The report will soon be published in the UK’s ‘Sports, Ethics & Philosophy: Journal of the British Philosophy of Sport Association’ but its publication could have severe ramifications for both codes once it is live.
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