Flatman: Players saying they knew what they were getting into is “absolute rubbish”
This article is written by Progressive Rugby
Former England prop David Flatman has given a typically forthright view on the issues of brain injury and early onset dementia threatening the future of the game.
The much-loved pundit believes the game is in peril if the lawsuit brought against World Rugby, Rugby Football Union and Wales Rugby Union over an alleged failure to protect them from the risks caused by concussions is successful.
Flatman was addressing an audience question during a promotional evening in Bath for his and Mark Durden-Smith’s new book Flats and Durders Offload: Rugby Laid Bare.
While he thinks ex-players claiming they ‘knew what they were getting into’ is “absolute rubbish”, he also said he believes governing bodies are making efforts to further protect players.
“There is so much to say about it we don’t have time - it’s a very serious issue,” he said.
“The fact is you can’t play rugby without mini concussions, but all the law changes you hear fans saying ‘the game’s gone soft’ about are the governing bodies trying to make the game safer.
“Ultimately, it’s not about the elite players, it’s about Corsham U15s and everybody else and their safety. We have elite medical care on the spot when we need it.”
And while the former Bath and Saracens loosehead rubbishes the ‘we knew what we were getting into’ crowd he also refuses to believe medics could have knowingly stood by and watched as players suffered potentially life-altering damage to their brains.
“I don’t buy into former pros saying; ‘we knew what we were getting into’ – it’s absolute rubbish and I’m happy to call them out on it,” Flatman told the audience.
“We knew we had to worry about our knees, our shoulders, our eye sockets, our elbows, our backs but they didn’t sit us down and show us a video of someone and say it’s possible that in your 40s you will have early onset dementia like this guy and forget who your kids are - it’s 50/50, we don’t know. This is what early onset dementia looks like. They never did that.
“I think the likelihood they knew and didn’t tell us, I feel, is unlikely. I just can’t believe all those medics would have known that damage was happening and stood by and let it happen.”
And he addressed a direct question around the return to play protocol that currently allows a player to return to play six days following a concussion.
“I don’t think you should assume it’s somebody in a blazer is making decisions around the Return to Play protocol. The people doing that are incredibly clever people who develop them, and crucially, have a huge amount to lose if it goes wrong.”
And finally, he addressed how the ongoing discussion has affected his life.
“It does not worry me, all I can do is hope that I don’t develop early onset dementia, it’s not something I thankfully choose to think about a lot,” he said.
“Would I let my kids play rugby? Probably. But when it came to it, it’s not a straight yes. I’d definitely be that dad on the side-line, and if I didn’t feel it was run well enough that would be it. My little girls have delicate brains and I want to take care of them.”
