Concussion policies of the National Football League: Revisiting the ‘Sport Administrator’s Charter’ and the role of the Australian Football League and National Rugby League in concussion management

Abstract The Berlin statement on sport-related concussion was published in 2017 using evidence-based recommendations. We aimed to examine (1) the implementation of, distribution and education based on the Berlin recommendations, and the development of sport-specific protocols/guidelines among professional and elite sports, (2) the implementation of guidelines at the community level, (3) translation of guidelines into different languages, and (4) research activities. Senior medical advisers and chief medical officers from Australian Football League, All Japan Judo Federation, British Horseracing Authority, Cricket Australia, Fédération Equestre Internationale, Football Association, Gaelic Athletic Association, International Boxing Association, Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, Major League Baseball, National Football League, National Hockey League, National Rugby League, and World Rugby completed a questionnaire. The results demonstrated that all 14 sporting organizations have published concussion protocols/guidelines based on the Berlin recommendations, including Recognize, Removal from play, Re-evaluation, Rest, Recovery, and Return to play. There is variable inclusion of Prolonged symptoms. Prevention and Risk reduction and Long-term effects are addressed in the guidelines, rules and regulations, and/or sport-specific research. There is variability in education programs, monitoring compliance with guidelines, and publication in other languages. All sporting bodies are actively involved in concussion research. We conclude that the Berlin recommendations have been included in concussion protocols/guidelines by all the sporting bodies, with consistency in the essential components of the recommendations, whilst also allowing for sport- and regional-specific variations. Education at the elite, community, and junior levels remains an ongoing challenge, and future iterations of guidelines may consider multiple language versions, and community- and junior-level guidelines.

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Contesting competence

Marketing Intelligence & Planning ◽

10.1108/mip-09-2014-0171 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

pp. 188-202 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Timothy Marjoribanks ◽

Karen Farquharson

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Methodology ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Chief Executive ◽

Technical Skills ◽

Leadership And Management ◽

Content Type ◽

Australian Football League ◽

Australian Football ◽

Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate around conceptualising competence in sport organisations by analysing club leadership and management in the Australian Football League (AFL) at a time of professionalisation. The paper asks: what were considered appropriate activities for newly professionalised AFL clubs, and how was the role of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as a competent leader in delivering these activities conceptualised in the clubs? Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 38 senior club managers in the AFL. A thematic analysis was undertaken. Findings – The paper finds that perceptions of core activities of clubs expanded with professionalisation, and that the role of the CEO emerged as the outcome of internal organisational contests. CEO competence is not only a set of technical skills, but is social, relational and “essentially contested” (Good, 1998, p. 205). Research limitations/implications – The qualitative methodology adopted means findings cannot be generalised to other sporting leagues, however, because all clubs participated they do reflect conceptualisations in the AFL at the time. The findings are suggestive of issues that may be relevant to other sporting competitions. Practical implications – The paper provides evidence that CEOs in sporting organisations should not be appointed only on the basis of technical skills. Social and relational skills are critical to organisational success. Originality/value – This paper enriches understandings of AFL clubs and of CEOs as leaders in sport organisations, and contributes to theoretical debates around the organisational construction of competence.

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Effects of stricter management guidelines on return-to-play timeframes following concussion in professional Australian Rules football

10.1101/2021.01.25.21250431 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alan J Pearce ◽

Doug A King ◽

Adam J White ◽

Catherine M Suter

Keyword(s):

Policy Change ◽

Subjective Assessment ◽

Return To Play ◽

Primary Concern ◽

Concussion Management ◽

Australian Football League ◽

Australian Rules Football ◽

Australian Football ◽

Policy Objectives ◽

The Impact

AbstractBackgroundManagement of concussion remains a serious issue for professional sports, particularly with the growing knowledge on the consequences of repetitive concussion. One primary concern is the subjective assessment of recovery that dictates the time until a concussed athlete is returned to competition. In response to this concern, the Australian Football League (AFL) changed its policy in 2020 such that clearance for return-to-play was extended from one day, to a minimum of five days, prior to the next scheduled match.ObjectiveWe sought to examine the impact of the AFL policy change by asking whether the time to return-to-play after concussion was increased in the 2020 season relative to previous years.MethodsRetrospective data on injury and return-to-play were sourced from publicly available tables published on the AFL website. We compared the number of matches missed and the number of days missed in concussed players across 2017 to 2020 inclusive.ResultsAnalysis of data from 166 concussed players revealed no increase in the number of matches missed in 2020 relative to previous years as would have been expected from an extend recovery protocol. Considering the number of days missed in 2020 relative to 2017-19 we found, paradoxically, that there was an overall reduction in the average time to return-to-play in 2020 (11.2 vs 16.2 days).ConclusionThis study demonstrates that any policy change around concussion management requires ongoing auditing to ensure clearance meets policy objectives and highlights the need for objective measures for return-to-play after concussion.

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International study of video review of concussion in professional sports

British Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1136/bjsports-2018-099727 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 53 (20) ◽

pp. 1299-1304 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Gavin A Davis ◽

Michael Makdissi ◽

Paul Bloomfield ◽

Patrick Clifton ◽

Ruben J Echemendia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Diagnostic Criteria ◽

International Study ◽

Professional Sports ◽

Rugby League ◽

Ice Hockey ◽

American Football ◽

Concussion Management ◽

Video Review ◽

Motor Incoordination ◽

Australian Football

BackgroundVideo review has become an important tool in professional sporting codes to help sideline identification and management of players with a potential concussion.AimTo assess current practices related to video review of concussion in professional sports internationally, and compare protocols and diagnostic criteria used to identify and manage potential concussions.MethodsCurrent concussion management guidelines from professional national and international sporting codes were reviewed. Specific criteria and definitions of video signs associated with concussion were compared between codes. Rules and regulations adopted across the codes for processes around video review were also assessed.ResultsSix sports with specific diagnostic criteria and definitions for signs of concussion identified on video review participated in this study (Australian football, American football, world rugby, cricket, rugby league and ice hockey). Video signs common to all sports include lying motionless/loss of responsiveness and motor incoordination. The video signs considered by the majority of sports as most predictive of a diagnosis of concussion include motor incoordination, impact seizure, tonic posturing and lying motionless. Regulatory requirements, sideline availability of video, medical expertise of video reviewers and use of spotters differ across sports and geographical boundaries. By and large, these differences reflect a pragmatic approach from each sport, with limited underlying research and development of the video review process in some instances.ConclusionsThe use of video analysis in assisting medical staff with the diagnosis or identification of potential concussion is well established across different sports internationally. The diagnostic criteria used and the expertise of the video review personnel are not clearly established, and research efforts would benefit from a collaborative harmonisation across sporting codes.

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International consensus definitions of video signs of concussion in professional sports

British Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1136/bjsports-2019-100628 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 53 (20) ◽

pp. 1264-1267 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Gavin A Davis ◽

Michael Makdissi ◽

Paul Bloomfield ◽

Patrick Clifton ◽

Ruben J Echemendia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protective Action ◽

Professional Sports ◽

Rugby League ◽

International Consensus ◽

Consensus Definition ◽

Modified Delphi ◽

Delphi Approach ◽

Australian Football League ◽

Australian Football ◽

Individual Sports

BackgroundThe use of video to assist professional sporting bodies with the diagnosis of sport-related concussion (SRC) has been well established; however, there has been little consistency across sporting codes with regards to which video signs should be used, and the definitions of each of these signs.AimThe aims of this study were to develop a consensus for the video signs considered to be most useful in the identification of a possible SRC and to develop a consensus definition for each of these video signs across the sporting codes.MethodsA brief questionnaire was used to assess which video signs were considered to be most useful in the identification of a possible concussion. Consensus was defined as >90% agreement by respondents. Existing definitions of these video signs from individual sports were collated, and individual components of the definitions were assessed and ranked. A modified Delphi approach was then used to create a consensus definition for each of the video signs.ResultsRespondents representing seven sporting bodies (Australian Football League, Cricket Australia, Major League Baseball, NFL, NHL, National Rugby League, World Rugby) reached consensus on eight video signs of concussion. Thirteen representatives from the seven professional sports ranked the definition components. Consolidation and refinement of the video signs and their definitions resulted in consensus definitions for six video signs of possible concussion: lying motionless, motor incoordination, impact seizure, tonic posturing, no protective action—floppy and blank/vacant look.ConclusionsThese video signs and definitions have reached international consensus, are indicated for use by professional sporting bodies and will form the basis for further collaborative research.

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The Impact of Emerging Technology in Sport Broadcasting on the Preconditions for Interorganizational Relationship (IOR) Formation in Professional Football

Journal of Sport Management ◽

10.1123/jsm.24.1.10 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 10-44 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Paul Turner ◽

David Shilbury

Keyword(s):

Rugby League ◽

Emerging Technology ◽

Professional Football ◽

Senior Managers ◽

Interorganizational Relationship ◽

Australian Football League ◽

Football Clubs ◽

Australian Football ◽

The Impact ◽

Depth Interviews

Environmental factors such as emerging technology, globalization, economic reform and social change are creating a background in which sporting organizations must seek to quickly adapt to manage their ongoing activities and operations. Focusing on emerging technology in the area of sport broadcasting, this research examined six preconditions for interorganizational relationship (IOR) formation from the perspective of professional football clubs in Australia. Based upon theories derived from the IOR literature, these six preconditions for IOR formation were considered to determine if emerging broadcasting technologies impact on IOR formation between Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL) clubs and broadcasters. Semistructured in-depth interviews with senior managers of 11 AFL, and 10 NRL clubs were undertaken and data analyzed, coded and emergent themes identified. Results indicate that professional club managers display most of these attributes that precipitate the preconditions for IOR formation, but although these preconditions exist, there is little willingness by the clubs to formulate IORs with sport broadcasters.

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The Role of Prepriming in Recognition-Primed Decisionmaking

Perceptual and Motor Skills ◽

10.2466/pms.1996.82.3c.1059 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 82 (3_suppl) ◽

pp. 1059-1069 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Jim McLennan ◽

Mary M. Omodei

Keyword(s):

Decision Model ◽

Limited Information ◽

Complex Time ◽

Australian Football League ◽

Australian Football ◽

Klein’S Model ◽

Decision Settings

Klein's (1989a) Recognition-primed Decision model proposes that the experienced decisionmaker, on encountering an incident requiring complex time-pressured decisions, first categorizes the situation as a variant of a familiar type of problem and subsequently simulates mentally the likely consequences of acting on the basis of the categorization. Drawing on data obtained in two studies, the first with Australian Football League umpires and the second with experienced firefighters, this paper suggests that Klein's model be extended to take into account the active mental processing that occurs immediately prior to the incident. In both studies, participants reported engaging in active simulations, based on the limited information available prior to exposure to the actual decisional incident. This suggests that in many time-pressured naturalistic decision settings, the experienced decisionmaker enters the situation with a number of most-likely prototype situations already activated in memory (preprimed) and that situational assessments and possibilities for action are first made from among this reduced set of preprimed prototypes.

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Evaluating Broadcast Strategy: The Case of Australian Football

International Journal of Sport Communication ◽

10.1123/ijsc.2015-0064 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 431-451 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Hunter Fujak ◽

Stephen Frawley

Keyword(s):

Rugby League ◽

Australian Football League ◽

Australian Football ◽

Sports Leagues ◽

The Impact

The central aim of this study was to evaluate the broadcast strategies of Australia’s 2 leading commercial sports leagues, the Australian Football League and the National Rugby League. Specifically, the research focused on assessing the degree of exclusivity and geographic reach embedded in each broadcast agreement. In doing so, the research considered the impact of strategy in providing value to the broadcasters and teams, as well as utility to fans of each league, within Noll’s framework of broadcasting principles.

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