Four Corners investigates the brain injury crisis facing the AFL in powerful new special — ABC’s flagship current affairs program Four Corners will next Monday turn its attention to one of the biggest issues confronting Australian sport, with a major investigation into brain injuries and the long-term impact of repeated head trauma in football.
Titled Collision: The Brain Injury Crisis in the AFL, the special investigation reveals startling new evidence of brain disease in younger players and asks whether Australia’s biggest sporting code is doing enough to address the growing concerns around concussion and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
As the AFL continues its ambitious push to reach one million registered participants by 2033, with women and children central to that growth, reporter Jessica Halloran speaks to families devastated by the deaths of young footballers later diagnosed with CTE, a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma.
Some parents tell Four Corners they were never warned about the risks associated with the disease, while the investigation raises serious questions about whether the AFL has moved quickly enough to educate players and families, support former players and provide a clear pathway for brain donations.
The program also examines whether the league has been sufficiently transparent about the dangers of the game at a time when participation numbers continue to grow across the country.
With concussion and brain injuries becoming an increasingly urgent issue in contact sport worldwide, Collision: The Brain Injury Crisis in the AFL promises to be one of the year’s most significant sporting investigations.
Four Corners: Collision – The Brain Injury Crisis in the AFL airs Monday, 29 June at 8.30pm on ABC TV and ABC iview
TV Central ABC content HERE
Four Corners investigates the brain injury crisis facing the AFL in powerful new special
