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What contact sport is doing to our brains

ABC News Daily
ABC News Daily
Episode • Sep 7, 2023 • 13m

When you’re watching sport on a weekend, whether at a professional, amateur or even school level, you’ll always hear the crowd gasp if a player takes a blow to the head. 

We know it’s not good for the brain, especially a child’s, but do we really understand the extent of the damage it can cause? 

This week a Senate committee recommended a national strategy to reduce concussion in sport.

Today, we speak to former AFL player Shaun Smith who has probable CTE, a brain disorder caused by repeated head knocks, and neuroscientist Dr Fatima Nasrallah about how we could make sport much safer. 

Featured: 

Shaun Smith, former AFL player

Dr Fatima Nasrallah, neuroscientist at the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland.

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