James Graham reflects on his health and future after another concussion
James Graham is one of the modern game’s deep thinkers and after another concussion, even the game’s greatest warrior admits he may have to consider his future in and out of the game, writes PAUL KENT.
Opinion
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Nobody has given more for as long as James Graham and on Saturday, playing for Great Britain, he gave it all again for all 11 seconds that he lasted.
He raced downfield at kick-off and collided with Papua New Guinea prop Luke Page, who changed direction late, and that is how it happens sometimes.
The impact proved once again that when head and shoulder come into contact the shoulder, no matter how many times it happens, always wins.
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The reaction went to the obvious.
It immediately sparked concern for Graham’s welfare and awakened again the debate over concussion and sport and welfare and what we should be doing to protect those who play such a tough game.
Graham has become the accidental spokesman for the concussion debate.
He is the game’s greatest warrior, having played more than 400 top-flight games in the toughest position on the field.
So he is well qualified to speak from experience when it comes to concussion. The added bonus is that as the game’s most intelligent speaker, he knows what he is talking about.
By midway through the second half he was feeling fine, he says, even though he retained enough wits about him within seconds of the collision to realise he was not going to be allowed to continue playing.
Now he deals with the fallout. Both personally and professionally.
In terms of housekeeping, he will head for more tests and do all that is necessary to ensure he is OK.
“I’ve completed a number of tests the past two years with some bio-markers and stuff,” Graham said on Monday.
His daughter was asleep nearby, a reminder of what is at stake.
“I had some tests down at the University of Melbourne which I am probably going to get redone, I had some baseline tests there,” Graham said.
“Obviously there’s the protocol with the NRL, I’ll do that as well. I’m pretty at ease with it all.”
The uncomfortable question around the fresh testing is what if there is a change to his baseline results?
“I’d have to cross that bridge when I came to it,” Graham said.
“If there was an immediate danger, a high risk of developing something, like if it was going to accelerate any potential illnesses or anything long term, I’d probably have to consider my profession.
“But there’s also the balance of what rugby league gives me.
“It gives me a focus, it gives me a responsibility. Sometimes people think it’s easier to give up if you have a number of concussions but I’d have to consider what life looks like without our sport.
“The choices you make have consequences.”
The brightness of James Graham is that he lives in a world bigger than a grass paddock that measures 100m long and 67m wide. He is of the world and takes a deep interest in it and so he brings a depth to his thoughts that stray from footy-speak.
By their very nature it refuses to box him in to what others think he should believe, like those who insist he should retire with every fresh concussion.
Graham understands there are two very intensive sides to the concussion debate, increasingly driven by agenda and greed, and so he digs for his version of truth, one he can find solace in.
At heart it is a personal issue.
“I’ve thought quite deeply about life and death and meaning and all those sorts of things,” he said.
“I am a dad of two now. I want my kids to have a functioning father in their life but I also want to teach them about pursuing something meaningful.
“I have read a bit about where we have come as a species. I recently read a book called Enlightenment Now, which is about the progress we have made as a species.
“We have come a long way in a short time. Medically, people aren’t dying like they used to.
“One concern of that is a lot of us are afforded the luxury of being able to pick your poison. Unless you think about that you sort of take it for granted.”
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His fortunate position is that he has made a lifetime out of playing rugby league, a game many now try telling him is also taking from him.
He believes the evidence, hears the anecdotal stories, and then he looks where he is in life and knows that without one he would not have the other.
Somewhere in there, he knows, is the fine line he treads.
So he remains both philosophical and pragmatic about concussions, and life, and the part they play in it.
“Is the measure of life to live as long as possible?” he says. “I don’t think so.”
It prompts a simple question, the answer is entirely personal.
“Where is the compromise?” he asked.
Originally published as James Graham reflects on his health and future after another concussion
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