A secret waiver but no punishment: the AFL’s concussion conundrum just got murkier

Geelong required a player with a history of concussions to sign a secret waiver giving up legal rights over future brain trauma, and on Friday the club confirmed the arrangement was real. The AFL called it a complex and unique case and said no punishment would follow, even while insisting it never approved the deal. Geelong has since dropped its reliance on the waiver, but the episode lands amid a broader crisis: insurers have pulled concussion coverage, several players have been medically retired, and a class action involving more than a hundred former players, the AFL, and eleven clubs is underway. Professional athletes remain excluded from Australia's workers' compensation system, a gap a 2023 Senate inquiry urged governments to revisit.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton