injuryupdate
27-03-2004, 07:13 PM
New Zealand Warriors hooker Tevita Latu was given the all clear to resume playing last weekend after suffering a mild case of tuberculosis over summer, for which he is still taking antibiotics. Read more at Foxsports.
http://foxsports.news.com.au/print/0,8668,8999766-23214,00.html
The Warriors played St George, with the Dragons' CEO Peter Doust posing the difficult question of whether or not his players could be guaranteed by the NRL and Warriors that they would not be at risk of contracting TB by being opposed to Latu in a match. Fortunately in this case the Warriors were able to confirm that the risk is very low, with the NRL Chief Medical Officer Hugh Hazard also giving Latu the green light to play. Although it is a serious disease, if cases are caught early they are treatable, which offers any opponents reassurance about this risk. The tougher question looms in the background and will one day rear its ugly head in football in Australia - what happens if an HIV positive player wants to participate in professional football in Australia? A precedent has been set in amateur Aussie Rules in Melbourne, with Matthew Hall being granted the 'right' to continue playing. Read more on this judgement.
http://www.law4u.com.au/lil/ls_hiv_footy.html
But any opponent who didn't like the decision could obviously stand down himself in an amateur game. It would be a brave administrator who would 'guarantee' that HIV could not be transmitted on the football field at professional level. When the first HIV positive professional footballer is announced in Australia, it will be a controversy to trump all others, in a similar way to the Magic Johnson sagas of the early 1990s (see picture). This one appears to be a land mine waiting for someone to tread on it.
http://foxsports.news.com.au/print/0,8668,8999766-23214,00.html
The Warriors played St George, with the Dragons' CEO Peter Doust posing the difficult question of whether or not his players could be guaranteed by the NRL and Warriors that they would not be at risk of contracting TB by being opposed to Latu in a match. Fortunately in this case the Warriors were able to confirm that the risk is very low, with the NRL Chief Medical Officer Hugh Hazard also giving Latu the green light to play. Although it is a serious disease, if cases are caught early they are treatable, which offers any opponents reassurance about this risk. The tougher question looms in the background and will one day rear its ugly head in football in Australia - what happens if an HIV positive player wants to participate in professional football in Australia? A precedent has been set in amateur Aussie Rules in Melbourne, with Matthew Hall being granted the 'right' to continue playing. Read more on this judgement.
http://www.law4u.com.au/lil/ls_hiv_footy.html
But any opponent who didn't like the decision could obviously stand down himself in an amateur game. It would be a brave administrator who would 'guarantee' that HIV could not be transmitted on the football field at professional level. When the first HIV positive professional footballer is announced in Australia, it will be a controversy to trump all others, in a similar way to the Magic Johnson sagas of the early 1990s (see picture). This one appears to be a land mine waiting for someone to tread on it.