Medical Body Calls for Ban on Olympic Boxing

(ATR) Australia Medical Association (AMA) vice president Steve Parnis says boxing can cause irreversible injury and therefore should be banned from the Olympic Games.

"You see a range of injuries but the ones that concern us the most are the ones that affect the brain and the cervical spine," Parnis said.

The AMA released a statement proclaiming the association is now against any sport, martial art or activity where the aim is to inflict physical injury on the other competitor.

"These sports are a public demonstration of interpersonal violence which is unique among sporting activities. Victory is obtained by inflicting on the opponent such a measure of physical injury that the opponent is unable to continue," the AMA statement reads.

Parnis is an emergency doctor who says he has personally seen too many cases of injuries caused by these combat sports.

"The concussion injuries are very prevalent, even more so we think then boxing because the gloves are almost like bare-fisted fights and cervical injuries can occur as well," Parnis said.

The AMA wants to ban combat sports and martial arts for youth under the age of 18 and for boxing to be banned at the Olympic Games.

In response to the statement from the AMA, Australian Olympic Committee spokesperson Mike Tancred told ABC News of Australia it is highly unlikely boxing would ever be banned from the Games and says many sports could result in concussions.

"You can suffer concussion from falling off a horse or a surfboard or a bicycle and you really don't seriously think that we should ban equestrian or surfing or cycling," Tancred said.

Brain Injury Australia executive Nick Rushworth says he does not support the call to action by the AMA and says the organization should stick to what it knows.

"I think that in some respects in this regard the AMA should stick to its knitting. I just don't think that banning an organised competitive sport that takes place internationally once every two or three or four years is core business for the AMA," Rushworth said.

The AMA says their only goal is to protect people’s health and prevent further serious injuries from occurring.

"The AMA's bottom line is that we are there to promote Australia's health, and as long as these sports exist you will continue to have young people both men and women who will suffer irreversible injury because the sport is being carried out as it is designed to be," Parnis said.

Written by Kevin Nutley

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