How old is old enough to consent to brain trauma? I’ve tackled this subject here previously. Its a worthwhile conversation.
Last month a paper was published in the Journal of Sport, Ethics and Philosophy addressing this topic in detail. The authors go so far as to argue that full contact/combat sports amount to child abuse given their likelihood of causing varying levels of traumatic brain injury and the general incapacity of youth to make informed decisions on a variety of dangerous societal choices.
The article, titled “Sport Structed Brain Trauma is Child Abuse” can be found here. Among the authors is Gary Turner who had a lengthy pro kickboxing and MMA career fighting some of the toughest men on the planet. You cannot call him ‘soft’ with a straight face.
Gary and his co-authors argue as follows: There is clear evidence of traumatic brain injury in contact and combat sports. These injuries are not accidental but a key feature of these sports. The injuries are both acute and chronic in nature and that no pros of exposing children to these harms outweigh their cons. They tackle issues of informed consent, ability of parents to consent to harm for minors and a host of legal, sport policy and other topics. It is a worthwhile read.
In short they note that the ability children (and adults on their behalf) to consent to a variety of harmful acts are already limited and brain trauma should be no exception.
The full abstract reads as follows:
This article first summarizes research regarding the relationship between sports that intentionally structure multiple types of brain trauma into their practice, such as rugby and boxing, and the range of negative health outcomes that flow from participation in such sports. The resultant brain injuries are described as ‘now’ and ‘later’ diseases, being those that affect the child immediately and then across their lifetime. After highlighting how these sports can permanently injure children, it examines this harm in relation to existing British laws and policies concerning child abuse. The conclusion drawn is that neither children nor adults on their behalf are legally able to give informed consent for participation, and that impact sport organisations effectively groom children into sustaining and accepting brain trauma. Adults providing brain-traumatizing versions of these sports are thus described as being complicit in a form of child abuse that we term brain abuse. The contradictions in existing sports policy are highlighted, where policy describes that children are to be protected from harm, and yet the very practice of such sports creates harm by design. Implications of the argument are that children should be prohibited from partaking in impact sports.
Combat Sports Law 