Concussed: Sport’s Ticking Timebomb

By Sam Peters

Published Aug 2023

By recounting the untold story of the most influential sports campaign in British newspaper history, which turned concussion in professional rugby from a niche issue into front and back page news, Concussed poses the questions all sports lovers need answering as evidence grows linking sports-related concussions to premature deaths and dementia.

Written by Sam Peters, the journalist who spearheaded the Mail on Sunday‘s Cudlipp Prize nominated concussion campaign, Concussed reveals one man’s attempts to blow the whistle on a mounting head injury crisis. For years, his efforts saw him labelled a ‘pariah’ and almost forced him out of the sport he loved for good.
Including exclusive interviews with bereaved families whose stories have never been told before, as well as high-profile administrators, medics, current and past players, coaches, lawyers and media figures, Peters recounts the countless battles he fought and the threats he faced in a sport whose macho culture masked the urgent need to radically overhaul player welfare standards.

Expanding his research from rugby to football, NFL and cricket, Peters brings an unparalleled breadth of experience and depth of knowledge to a subject he has written about and campaigned over for almost a decade.

Now sport’s ‘dirty secret’ is out in the open, Peters asks what it must now do to ensure future generations of players are not left permanently damaged and how parents can be persuaded their children are safe to play contact sports. Ultimately, in an increasingly risk-averse world, Concussed: Sport’s Ticking Timebomb asks: will concussion kill sport?