THE father of a young Irish boy who died during a rugby match has accused Piers Morgan of ‘trivialising’ a potential ban on contact sports in schools.
Peter Robinson’s 14-year-old son, Ben, died after being treated for a severe blow to the head at Carrickfergus Grammar School in 2011.
Co. Antrim native Mr Robinson hit out at the Good Morning Britain host Piers after the presenter said he opposes the potential ban on tackles and scrums on school playing fields.
Yesterday, an article backed by a number of academics argued that “harmful contact” in contact sports such as rugby should be prohibited at schools.
Allyson Pollock and Graham Kirkwood from the Institute of Health at Newcastle University said most injuries in youth rugby occur due to the “collision elements” of the sport and could have lasting impacts on children’s health.
The issue was discussed on Good Morning Britain when Piers Morgan made his opinion clear saying a ban would "kill the sport".
He asked academic Allyson Pollock whether she would support banning tackles from football, punching in boxing and tug of war as people could burn their hands on the rope.
He denied he was making light of the argument, but said he was "taking the argument to its logical conclusion".
Morgan said his children enjoyed playing "top level" rugby and described it as a "magnificent sport, played by magnificent athletes" and the benefits of children playing sport was ignored.
I'm not for banning tackling in the schools game but I would ban @piersmorgan from @GMB for trivialising this issue. pic.twitter.com/bamDvNA0py
— Ben Robinson (@peterrobinson86) September 26, 2017
Reduce amount of Contact in training, weight divisions and proper coaching re tackle with mandatory Concussion training for all involved
— Ben Robinson (@peterrobinson86) September 26, 2017
We educate our kids re road safety we teach our kids to swim we need mandatory Concussion Education to all involved. pic.twitter.com/GTYS2OwJSl
— Ben Robinson (@peterrobinson86) September 26, 2017
"The whole point of rugby is the collision," he said.
"If you remove the element of injury or risk from school sport you are killing off school sport. No kid wants to play tag rugby."
Mr Morgan’s comments sparked anger from the late Ben Robinson’s father Peter, who said the presenter was “trivialising” the matter.
Mr Robinson said he does not support an outright ban but that the amount of contact should be reduced with mandatory concussion training for coaches.
Taking to Twitter, he wrote: “I'm not for banning tackling in the schools game but I would ban Piers Morgan from @GMB for trivialising this issue.
“Reduce amount of contact in training, weight divisions and proper coaching re tackle with mandatory Concussion training for all involved.
“We educate our kids re road safety. We teach our kids to swim. We need mandatory Concussion Education to all involved.”
Tragic Ben died from ‘second impact syndrome’ – the first known death of its kind in Northern Ireland.
The talented teenager died at Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital two days after being sent back onto the field despite being treated three times for a severe blow to the head.
His father Peter has campaigned vocally to raise awareness of the potentially harmful effects of concussion – which can lead to long-lasting health difficulties or even death in extreme circumstances.
