Four-time Hawthorn premiership player Jordan Lewis has expressed disappointment over revelations that the AFL received an international concussion warning in 2001 but failed to act on it for a decade. Lewis, who ended his career at Melbourne, was knocked out by Western Bulldogs opponent Jarrod Harbrow in a sickening collision in 2010 and returned to the field in the same match.
AFL's Delayed Response
The following year, in 2011, the AFL banned players from returning to the ground in the same game after being forced off due to concussion. However, a report over the weekend indicated that an international warning in 2001 stated a player showing signs of concussion should not return to a game or training session on the same day.
Lewis told Fox Sports on Monday night: "I went back on the ground (after getting knocked out), but I think after reading that article, and I think the disappointing thing for me was to understand that there was information out there that had been backed by the top head trauma guys in the world, and the AFL had been provided that information, yet still didn't act. And it was 10 years later that that had happened."
Player Responsibility and AFL Accountability
Lewis acknowledged his own role, saying: "I think the AFL set the guidelines for players to enter the competition, and I take responsibility for the concussion. But I think what happened after that could have been certainly held or done better by the AFL with the information that they had been given."
He added: "I'm just disappointed that the AFL had information and didn't act on it from the experts that are in this field, and I think a lot of players would feel the same way. I would like to know why they didn't act on it."
Class Action Looms
A class action by former AFL players over concussion-related injuries is set for trial next year. Former Richmond premiership star Jack Riewoldt also weighed in, saying there was "a grey area" in the timeline of the AFL's handling of the concussion issue. "It's certainly a worrying thing that we've got to this, and information has been withheld from a playing group," Riewoldt said.
