Mark of the Century high-flyer and concussion victim Shaun Smith says it’s ‘absolute madness’ to play Brody Mihocek
Just over a week after being carried off on a stretcher after a brutal head knock, Brody Mihocek is in the mix to play for Collingwood. It has prompted concussion victim Shaun Smith to deliver a serious warning to the Magpies.
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Mark of the Century high-flyer and concussion victim Shaun Smith says it would be “absolute madness” for Collingwood and the AFL to allow injured forward Brody Mihocek to take the field this weekend.
Mihocek was knocked out in a sickening collision against Melbourne at the Gabba on Saturday, spending the night in hospital under observation.
But the Pies say Mihocek has recovered well and is likely to play against North Melbourne on Monday.
Smith, whose life has been destroyed by the ongoing effects of concussions suffered during his 109-game AFL career, urged Collingwood to sit him out.
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“He was carried off on a stretcher and there is talk of him playing again this week — that’s just absolutely nuts,” Smith said.
“They shouldn’t even be talking about it.
“That young kid Kyron Hayden at North Melbourne got absolutely poleaxed (in Round 7) and he played the next week and I just think it shows that the AFL haven’t learnt a thing.
“You can’t tell me if you get knocked out, which is a fairly major brain trauma, that you’re going to recover within a week.”
Smith, 51, who survived a suicide attempt last year, released his private medical files to shine a light on the shocking consequences of repeated head knocks.
The gruesome medical report described numerous lesions and “deep white matter” on his brain and symptoms including depression, pervasive suicidal ideation, feelings of hopelessness, social withdrawal, insomnia, and poor short-term memory.
The former Melbourne and North Melbourne forward, who was recently declared to be “permanently incapacitated”, will require lifelong treatment and daily medication.
Smith said his advice to Mihocek was simple.
“Don’t play. Just don’t do it,” Smith said.
“Have a minimum of a few weeks off. Have a month off. That’s probably not going to happen but even if you’re only half a per cent off, that means you’re not feeling right.
“It’s obviously great to play the game but it’s not like a knee injury where down the track you can actually replace the knee — you can’t replace your brain and brain function is everything.
“It’s not worth it. The grief it has given me down the track, and other guys that I know of that are AFL players and even local players, it’s just not worth it because it actually impacts your whole life.
“You don’t think it does (at the time). I only realised it did years and years ago, up until then I just thought I was going a bit silly.
“You’ve just got to rethink what you are doing.
“If you get knocked out in boxing you have to have four to six weeks off. The AFL is a pretty violent sort of sport and you don’t even have to get hit in the head to be concussed — a hard tackle can shake your brain.”
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