Concussion expert Paul McCrory accused of lying on legal documents

An AFL concussion expert is embroiled in yet another scandal after he was allegedly found to be lying on legal documents.

One of the AFL’s former longstanding concussion advisers has once again come under scrutiny after he allegedly lied on legal documents about his involvement with a state government sporting board.

The Herald Sun can reveal Dr Paul McCrory, who has been embroiled in recent plagiarism allegations and is alleged to have downplayed brain injuries in AFL players, is now accused of lying about his involvement with the state government’s Professional Boxing and Combat Sport Board.

It comes after leading experts called for a royal commission into the treatment of sports-related concussions in Australia, saying Dr McCrory should be stopped from releasing further research papers.

US court documents obtained by the Herald Sun reveal Dr McCrory appeared as an expert witness for the National Hockey League, who was fighting a lawsuit from retired players regarding concussion injuries in 2017.

Dr McCrory wrote in his declaration: “I have worked with a number of national and international sporting organisations including … Boxing and Combat Sport Board (Chair of Medical Commission, State of Victoria, Australia)”.

It has emerged that Paul McCrory lied about his involvement with the state government’s Professional Boxing and Combat Sport Board.

But the state government has confirmed with the Herald Sun that there currently is not, nor has there ever been, a chair of medical commission on the Professional Boxing and Combat Sport Board.

The government also confirmed the only involvement Dr McCrory ever had with the board was in 2018 when he was engaged alongside a ringside physician to prepare a concussion handout that was provided to contestants and their trainers in Victoria.

The legal document, which Dr McCrory signed on April 22, 2017, also said he declared under “penalty of perjury” that the foregoing is true and correct.

Dr Chris Nowinski, co-founder and executive director of the Concussion Legacy Foundation in Boston, said it was a “bizarre thing” for Dr McCrory to allegedly lie about.

“I’m hopeful there is an honest explanation. But it would fit a pattern of inaccurate statements about verifiable facts,” Dr Nowinski said.

“If there is not a reasonable explanation for how the mistake was made, we should be even more concerned about what has been said to whom over the years when advising on concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).”

Neuroscientist Alan Pearce expressed disappointment.

Concussion Legacy Foundation chief Chris Nowinski.

Neuroscientist and concussion researcher Dr Alan Pearce said he was “disappointed” that someone of Dr McCrory’s international standing would allegedly lie on his resume and suggest that he had done things he couldn’t verify.

“What does that tell us about his professionalism in medicine and neurology? The fact that he has done this in legal situations and in professional situations,” he said.

“This was a legal document for the NHL case, that’s what’s so concerning.

“I would like to see rebalanced, independent research, so that people engaged in such a serious issue as brain injury in sport are not just being associated with these large sports where we’re having less confidence in science because of the way it can be manipulated.”

The Florey Institute associate professor faces accusations of several examples of plagiarism, where he is said to have copied large swathes of research, some of it apparently verbatim, in papers and journals between 2002 and 2015.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) is investigating Dr McCrory on behalf of the Medical Board of Australia.

His honorary appointment at the University of Melbourne has also been temporarily suspended while a review, which is in its initial stages, takes place.

The Herald Sun contacted Dr McCrory for comment.

Originally published as Concussion expert Paul McCrory accused of lying on legal documents