Richard Dunwoody's Blog by Richard_Dunwoody

Anyone who saw Rodi Greene’s terrible fall from Diamond Twister at the first flight in a maiden hurdle at Lingfield last week will have winced. Rodi (below) suffered a displaced a bone in his neck and mild concussion after being catapulted clear. Hopefully, he’ll make a full recovery and my thoughts are with him and his wife, Alison. Falls are part of the job. It is estimated that one in every 15 rides will result in a fall. In my career, I had probably five or six bad concussions. One of the worst came in a last-fence fall at Ascot. I didn’t really become conscious until I was in the sauna, well after the last race, and didn’t remember anything at all, until I watched the replay and saw myself talking to the on-course doctor on TV, which I didn’t recall. 

I suffered another concussion at Hereford. I was sitting in the weighing room afterwards with a big smile on my face, pretending I was okay, until I read the paper with horror; apparently I’d left Martin Pipe and I’d left my wife! That was news to me. It was frightening... until I was reminded that it was actually true. I had left the employ of the master trainer to go freelance and, being 10 months after my split with Carol, I was already in another relationship. Concussions take their toll. I’ve had scans that show there is a small shadow on my brain, and while people will joke that I’ve had one too many bangs on the head, phrases used to describe sports-related concussions such as ‘getting dinged’, having one’s ‘bell rung’, or getting hit so hard you ‘see stars’, downplay the seriousness of these injuries. A lot has been done to reduce concussions within rugby over the past few years and players are more likely to be instructed to leave the field if a concussion is suspected.

The use of scrum caps and improvements in helmet technology has helped reduce the number of concussions in sport, but they are still all too common. I confess that I have an interest in American Football, largely because of the attrition that playing in the NFL has on the body. Concussion rates are so serious that Congress is looking into it. A recent NFL study revealed that the average impact velocity of a helmet-to-helmet tackle is 20.8 miles per hour. The player being struck, on average, goes from a state of rest to impact velocity of 16.1 miles per hour. Think of it as a car crash. On every play. Thirty, forty, fifty times each game. That’s how players make their living – by getting into car crashes. The average life expectancy of an NFL player is about 20 years shorter than the average American male. Players are bigger and faster and harder-hitting (more dangerous) than ever and an NFL player’s average career-span is just 3.4 years. Many players are diagnosed with ALS (commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease and believed to be linked to repeated concussions). Recently, Chicago Bears legend Dave Duerson took his own life by shooting himself in the chest instead of the head so his brain could be studied for the effects of post-concussive syndrome. He was just 50 years old. Many NFL teams are now playing on a synthetic turf that, according to one study, has an injury rate that is 27 percent higher than on grass.

So what does the NFL want to do? Add two more games to the 16-game regular season. That’s hardly an advert for players’ welfare. The league is coming off its most successful season in history, but for the owners it’s not enough. They also want players to take massive wage cuts (around 18%), because they claim a dip in profits. The not-so-funny thing is the owners of the 32 teams refuse to open their books to prove it. Negotiations over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Players’ Association and the NFL have broken down, and the owners have locked out the players. An off-season lockout means that they have no access to team trainers, doctors, or physical therapists. Remember, this is a league with a 100 percent injury rate. Healthcare for players and their families is officially cut off. While some will say it is a battle between billionaires and millionaires, even I, with just a passing interest in the sport, know whose side I’m on.

I have been on the odd Hash when I’ve been visiting Berlin and last week I laid my first Hash Trail. A dozen of us ran around the beautiful area of Grunewald, and I’m pleased to say that I didn’t lose anyone. Afterwards we all retired to the local kneipe (bar). A good time, I think, was had by all. I also visited the Boros Collection at the Bunker Exhibition, a collection of contemporary art, which incorporates sculptures, room and light installations, and performance works. Since 2008, communication designer Christian Boros and his wife Karen have showed their private collection in a converted bunker in Berlin-Mitte. It is a fascinating way to spend an hour or two.  Tickets can be purchased by logging on here. I thoroughly recommend a visit.

With Aintree’s John Smith’s Grand National meeting starting next Thursday, I have been studying the form in preparation for my BBC punditry role. I’ll be at champion trainer Paul Nicholls’s Ditcheat yard in Somerset on Friday. Some bright spark had the idea that I should run up his famous gallops (in other words up one of the steepest hills in Somerset). I believe the plan is for Dame Kelly Holmes to run with me (though quite why Clare Balding is not doing it, is a question that needs asking). It’s going to be quite some workout, that’s all I know!