Fight Rugby and USA Team Doctor gets international support!
Philadelphia Fight Rugby News and Press
Fight Rugby and USA Team Doctor Jack Kazanjian (Right in Blue) at the USA vs. Jamaica Match in Jacksonville FLA. (Allene Rachal photo)
Medical professionals and the National Referees governing body in New Zealand have come out in support of USA team Doctor Jack Kazanjian following an unusual set of circumstances that occurred during the Rugby League Atlantic Cup in Jacksonville, FL.
Article courtesy of Brian Lowe from We Are Rugby.com
Dr. Jack Kazanjian, an orthopedic and sports consultant from Premier Orthopaedics, Havertown PA, who was also the official medical officer for the Atlantic Cup tournament, went on to the field during a stoppage in play in the second half of the match between the USA and Jamaica on November 16 to request permission to examine Jamaican hooker Jamain Wray for concussion.
Wray got a knock on the back of his head when scoring a try earlier in the game and Dr Kazanjian asked referee Phil Bentham to allow him to examine Wray in the interests of the player’s safety and well-being.
Kazanjian had been appointed doctor for both teams and had treated other Jamaican players up to that point in the match.
The discussion between Dr Kazanjian and Bentham, as well as the Jamaican team physio, lasted for around four minutes before Bentham finally decided that Wray was okay to continue playing and that the doctor should return to the sidelines.
The Jamaicans, who lost the game, later claimed that the lengthy stoppage had helped the Americans regroup at a time when they were on the back foot and when Jamaica had the ascendancy.
The incident has caught the attention of the New Zealand Rugby League’s National Referees Coordinator Ian Mackintosh, who says a match official in New Zealand would not override a medical professional.
“Please let me reassure you that a NZRL match official would not knowingly override the decision of a medical professional in regards to fitness of a player after that player has sustained an injury,” Mackintosh said in an email sent to WeAreRugby.
“The current NZRL International book includes the Safe Play Code and also there is a considerable component included in all NZRL Match Official Level Course/Examinations dealing with the ‘duty of care’ that our officials must show toward players and indeed is expressed as their primary function when officiating.”
That point of view is shared by Dr Chris Hanna, a sports physician with Adidas Sports Medicine in New Zealand.
“I am surprised to hear that referees have the final say on fitness to play,” Hanna said in an email.
“I'm sure that they have some say and would support them being able to rule a player out of play, at least for medical assessment, but am very uncomfortable with the thought that they can over-ride a doctor’s decision.”
For his part, Dr Kazanjian maintains his actions were all about Wray’s safety.
“When the initial injury occurred, the Jamaican physio evaluated the player and let him play on without consulting me,” Kazanjian told WeAreRugby.
“I observed Wray for quite some time staggering about the field, looking obviously dazed and not fit to play. I pleaded with the physio and the nearest coach to get him off the field so I could evaluate him properly to see if he was fit to play.
"Rugby League is a great sport. By no means do I want to take out or eliminate the competitiveness, ferocity and intensity of the game. However, head and neck injuries are real and can be catastrophic without appropriate recognition and treatment by trained professionals.
“Players' safety is paramount; it is my duty to hold allegiance to ensure safety to the players involved so that they can continue on in their sporting career, outside professions and family life. That is my main objective."
Related Links
See all news »
top
