Updated at 12.13pm

A WORRYING warrior ‘ethos’ still exists in the GAA when it comes to players carrying on in games despite reportedly suffering the symptoms of concussion.

That’s the claim of the Acquired Brain Injury Ireland organisation who have expressed concern about Sean Cavanagh playing for Tyrone after manager Mickey Harte stated after Tyrone’s Allianz league defeat to Monaghan that talisman Cavanagh “had a slight, mild concussion” from a “bang above the eye”.

The GAA’s concussion guidelines clearly state that a player should be removed from play immediately, though, according to Harte, Cavanagh “decided he wanted to stay on and it wasn’t serious enough for the medics to have to take him off”.

Nevertheless, ABI Ireland insist that, if Harte had been correct in his concussion assessment, then Cavanagh should have been taken off as he was at risk of the potentially fatal second impact syndrome.

“I’ve seen the reports that he suffered a mild concussion and one claimed it was a ‘brave’ call he made to play on — the reality is that it’s anything but brave, it’s completely the wrong decision,” said ABI Ireland spokesperson Karen O’Boyle.

“If Sean Cavanagh was concussed and he played on and then took another hit, even if it was only a strong shoulder that caused the head to shake, he could have suffered a second concussion and second impact syndrome which can be fatal if the player is not removed from play.

“If you’re taking risks, there’s nothing brave about it at all. It’s sending out totally the wrong message to everyone by calling that brave.”

O’Boyle said there is still a problem generally in Gaelic games that playing while concussed is seen as a manly or impressive thing.

“This warrior ethos is something we’re trying really hard to get rid of,” she continued. “It’s sending out the message that if you get a knock to the head and play on you’re tough.

“In reality, you’re probably making worse choices on a purely playing level but more importantly you’re putting your health at risk. Why is it okay to say, ‘I have a twisted knee, I need to come off’ and not to say the same after a hit to the head?”

However, last night the Red Hand county board issued a statement stating the Moy Tír Na nÓg man was not, in fact, concussed.

It read:

“Sean Cavanagh sustained a knock to his forehead during the first half of the match on Saturday. He was immediately assessed for any evidence of concussion.

“On the pitch Sean was alert and reported no symptoms. He was able to answer all [our] questions confirming he was fully orientated. He was deemed NOT to be concussed and was allowed to remain on the field.

Presseye / Russell Pritchard/INPHO Presseye / Russell Pritchard/INPHO / Russell Pritchard/INPHO

“As concussion can be an evolving condition he was closely monitored by the medical team who were satisfied his behaviour/ball handling/coordination, etc were appropriate and he remained symptom free.

“At half time he was reassessed and passed full SCAT3 evaluation. The medical team were satisfied throughout that Sean did not have concussion.”

The statement concludes:

“In post-match interviews the term ‘concussion’ was used loosely from a non-medical perspective which appears to have lead to some erroneous conclusions. We trust this statement clarifies the matter.”

Additional reporting by Steve O’Rourke.

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