Thursday 22 April 2010

Stomping and other sports.

While Lyle Gilmore was the principal of Dooralong School, at age about forty, he continued to play rugby. Monday morning he often turned up with a bruise or a sore knee, but on this day, his face was swollen and torn, with a Betadine stained and stitched cut starting from is mouth and ending at his left ear. His face looked like a hand-made wallet.
‘A hundred and sixty eight stitches.’ he was able to mumble through diced-tomato lips.

When talking was less painful, he explained he had been ‘stomped’.
‘Stomped? You mean intentionally?’
‘Yes, intentionally.’
‘So this bastard makes a habit of ripping up people’s faces.’
‘Apparently.’
‘Can’t you sue the mongrel?’
‘He was banned for a few matches, that’s all.’
‘So behaviour that would land you in jail is OK on the sports field!’
‘Yep!’

Then last Sunday I read Plane Jane’s column in the Australian. She wrote about the pressure ARL (Rugby League) players are now under to perform extreme and spectacular collisions, risking permanent injury. She wrote about legal contact, but what about illegal contact?

Now, with video footage recording incidents of intentional foul play, good evidence is available to show if an act was intended to injure a player for the match, the season, or for life.
Intention to seriously injure was never part of any game. We now have the technology so it is time such breaches were recognized as criminal assault and dealt with in courts of law, damages awarded and punishment meted out, including fines and jail time if appropriate.

I contend that would stop intentionally inflicted injuries overnight.

However, there are some on-field encounters we cannot legislate against, but if only out of common decency, wouldn’t you think they’d get a room!?

Pics coutesy ‘Perfectly timed photos’.

17 comments:

  1. 'diced-tomato lips' - now that's a great image. You're right. Everything is about money these days and people seem to love big fights and collisions. They won't stop unless they're made to stop.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My assumption of absence of the right to sue in sport was challenged by my grand daughter Rae, a law student, so here are three opinions in actions where a player sued anther for assault. In the first the plaintiff lost, in the others he won. I would like to have seen what damages if any were awarded.

    McNamara v Duncan (1971) 26 ALR 584
    AFL football
    ‘I have come to the conclusion that the striking of the plaintiff by the defendant was intentional; he meant to do it. I do not suggest that he meant to incapacitate the plaintiff or indeed to cause him any serious injury …’ Per Fox J

    McNamara v Duncan (1971) 26 ALR 584
    An intentional striking of a player outside the rules of the game was not covered by the consent otherwise given by players (ie there is
    consent to battery within the rules of the sport)

    Giumelli v Johnston [1991] ATR 81‐085
    ‘some bodily contact outside the rules of the game is to be expected as an ordinary incident of a football match … [A] player’s consent to the application of force to him in the course of the game extends not only to the application of force within the rules of the game but also to certain commonly encountered infringements of the rules.’

    BUT…
    …such consent cannot be taken to include physical violence applied in contravention of the rules of the game by an opposing player who intends to cause bodily harm or knows, or ought to know, that such harm is the likely result of actions.” (at 68.709-10)
    What about a head‐high tackle in League?
    Player and club can be liable: Canterbury
    Bankstown RLFC Pty Ltd v Rogers [1993] ATR 81‐246

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi there! I could havе sωorn I've been to this blog before but after checking through some of the post I realized it's new to me.
    Anyhow, I'm definitely delighted I found it and I'll
    be bоok-marking anԁ checking bacκ frequently!


    Alsо visit my wеb-sіtе:
    Going Listed here

    ReplyDelete
  4. Super Mario Piranha Plant Earrings - A personalized two of cute Super Mario earrings featuring
    the piranha plant in the game. Cool idea.

    my site ,cheap earring for sale

    ReplyDelete
  5. really appealing information.
    I am getting a mistake:

    PS limitcheck error, angering command "setpagedevice".


    Here is my website ... xerox phaser 8560 ink

    ReplyDelete
  6. I was recommended this website by my cousin. I am not sure whether this post is written by him
    as nobody else know such detailed about my difficulty.

    You're wonderful! Thanks!

    Feel free to surf to my webpage; xerox phaser 8560 ink

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey, I think your website might be having browser compatibility issues.
    When I look at your blog in Opera, it looks fine but when
    opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted
    to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, awesome blog!


    Feel free to surf to my webpage anxiety panic disorder

    ReplyDelete
  8. When someone writes an piece of writing he/she maintains the image of a user in his/her mind that how a user can know it.
    Thus that's why this piece of writing is amazing. Thanks!

    Feel free to surf to my homepage :: connectoria.info

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let
    you know a few of the images aren't loading correctly. I'm not sure why
    but I think its a linking issue. I've tried it in two different internet browsers and both show the same results.

    my blog: mexico food

    ReplyDelete
  10. Can I just say what a relief to discover an individual who actually knows
    what they're talking about online. You actually know how to bring a problem to light and make it important. More people really need to look at this and understand this side of your story. I was surprised you aren't more popular given that
    you most certainly have the gift.

    Feel free to visit my blog post mexican fast food

    ReplyDelete
  11. Why people still make use of to read news papers when in this technological globe everything is presented on net?


    Here is my web blog; adult acne treatment

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for writing. All the responses join the video
    clip ... watch thoroughly and you will be printing labels in no time!
    Many thanks for visiting!

    Feel free to surf to my web-site - http://gettingmiotv.blogspot.com/2007/07/news-release-singtel-to-revolutionise.html

    ReplyDelete
  13. kent, that's so cool. and good plan heather.

    Here is my web page - danon Jewellery online

    ReplyDelete
  14. You are splendid. I have actually been so frustrated.

    Thank you, thanks, thanks.
    Patty.


    My web-site; http://casserole08.blogspot.com/2004/12/mall-of-georgia.html

    ReplyDelete
  15. Beautiful and thanks for sharing the truly
    great tips!

    Here is my webpage: ,cheap earring stores

    ReplyDelete
  16. Definitely believe that that you stated. Your favourite justification appeared to be on the internet the easiest
    factor to be aware of. I say to you, I certainly get
    annoyed even as folks consider worries that they just don't know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the highest and also outlined out the whole thing with no need side-effects , folks can take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thank you

    Here is my web page: xerox 8560mfp d

    ReplyDelete
  17. We have a Dell 5110CN printer that was being used at our switzerland workplace (different current.
    ) We have actually because delivered the printer to our Canadian workplace but it will not
    electric up. I was told that we need to switch the voltage setting on the electric supply however i
    can not find it. Do you understand where this change is
    on the printer?

    Stop by my blog post xerox phaser 8560 drivers

    ReplyDelete

(leave a message)