Awesome. Loving. Vibrant: Remembering Benjamin Robinson. Always.
This article is written by Progressive Rugby
For many, 29th January will have little significance.
For the family and friends of schoolboy Benjamin Robinson it was this day, in 2011, that Ben went to play a game of rugby and never returned to his loved ones.
Tragically, just 48 hours later he became the first person in the UK to die of second impact syndrome playing rugby.
Ben was just 14-years-old.
It was quite clear, thanks in part to a video of the game, that a lack of education around concussion and correct concussion process led to decisions, or lack of, that contributed to the tragedy.
During the match Ben had been checked for concussion three times but allowed to continue. The last words he said to his increasingly anxious mother on the touch line were “I don’t feel right.”
The consultant told Peter and Karen that Ben had suffered a brain injury similar to what they’d expect to see in someone involved in a car crash.
Ben’s parents Peter and Karen have invested the last 11 years in raising awareness of the danger of concussion and brain injuries for young sportspeople, constantly reminding the rugby community that if there any doubt at all in the amateur game the player should be removed.
We publish today (29th January) because 12 years on, Peter and Karen still consider ‘game day’ as the day Ben died, even though his death is officially registered as two days later.
Peter, who is also a valued member of Progressive Rugby, said: “The simple act of saying his name is so important to us. It reminds us that others have not forgotten our Benjamin.
“It’s desperately painful but we were lucky to have such a wonderful son for 14 years.
Peter, a constant voice behind the increasingly successful ‘If in doubt, sit them out’ campaign, added: “The more players, parents, spectators, coaches and referees who are educated the smaller the chance a player with a brain injury will remain on the pitch.
“It’s about improving the ratio, we aren’t asking people to be neurologists or brain injury experts, we are asking them to be vigilant, remove children from the pitch, and make sure they get correctly managed afterwards by informing their parents, school and GP.
“Even now, I get coaches say to me it’s a difficult decision removing a player who only ‘may’ have suffered a brain injury. It’s not, turning your child’s life-support machine off is a difficult decision.
“That’s the thing. It’s not rugby that killed Ben, it was the mismanagement of his brain injury. So, while Ben’s story isn’t a positive one for rugby, it absolutely can be – I really believe that. I have to.”
“It’s not rugby that killed Ben, it was the mismanagement of his brain injury. ”