Player agent Peter Jess believes another wave of concussion lawsuits is a matter of time

Veteran player agent Peter Jess has warned the AFL to expect another wave of legal action from retired players who have discussed their concussion concerns with him.

AFL player agent Peter Jess says retired players have sought his advice over their concussion concerns.

Veteran player agent and concussion advocate Peter Jess has been approached by a handful of recently-retired AFL players considering legal action against the AFL over its return-to-play protocols.

It comes in the wake of Bulldogs premiership hero Liam Picken this week exclusively telling the Herald Sun he would posthumously donate his brain for research purposes after his career was cut short by heavy concussions.

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This followed on from the late Australian football legend Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer’s recent CTE diagnosis.

Jess would not reveal the identity of the players who have approached him, but said the numbers could grow significantly if several currently-listed AFL footballers fail to overcome their concussion issues and are forced into premature retirement.

“I’ve been approached by a handful of players already, but if the non-active players (dealing with the effects of heavy head knocks) move to full retirement, the cohort is going to be closer to 20-plus players,” Jess said.

While a class action against the AFL is already underway for over 100 past footballers – including former Hawk John Platten, ex-high flying Demon Shaun Smith and former Essendon and Geelong big man John Barnes – Jess says the next wave of legal action is looming.

“It appears there is a new cohort emerging, which will be the recently-retired players who have a completely different return-to-play history than the older cohort,” Jess said.

AFL player agent Peter Jess says retired players have sought his advice over their concussion concerns.

He said the crux of the legal argument could centre on the AFL’s claim that it has world’s best protocol in terms of concussion recovery and return-to-play guidelines.

“These (younger) players have been subjected to return-to-play protocols where they have returned within 7-to-14 days and now the consequences are very clear,” he said.

“(Some of them) have suffered neurological damage to such an extent that they can no longer play AFL football. The damage also manifests itself in such a way that it impacts on their everyday life.

“This new group, in my view, has an entirely different set of problems that have been clearly created by flawed return-to-play protocols that the AFL is still refusing to deal with.”

Already, the AFL has tightened its concussion protocols, mandating players must be successful in a Sport Concussion Assessment Tool test five days before playing their next game.

Originally published as Player agent Peter Jess believes another wave of concussion lawsuits is a matter of time