Latest news with #RunItStraight
Herald Sun
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Herald Sun
Concussion expert condemns ‘Run It Straight' as barbaric blood sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News. Exclusive: A leading concussion expert has slammed the self-styled sport Run It Straight as 'barbaric' and said it has no place in a civilised society. A social media phenomenon, Run It Straight involves participants sprinting into each other with one carrying a football. New Zealand teen Ryan Satterthwaite died from injuries sustained during an impromptu game with friends. Despite widespread backlash, official competitions are emerging on both sides of the Tasman, drawing hundreds to watch combatants on what one 'Championship League' describes as a 20m x 4m 'battlefield', where 'victory belongs to the one who dominates the collision'. Olympic hero and Australian Sports Commission chief executive Kieren Perkins has spoken out against this 'dangerous activity', while Melbourne Storm's Nelson Asofa-Solomona has parted ways with the most high-profile of several outfits organising these official 'challenges'. But that organisation, RUNIT, insists the controversial craze is 'here to stay'. Adrian Cohen, the founding CEO of concussion assessment program Headsafe, said he viewed Run It Straight as 'an activity designed to create a brain injury'. 'I'm hard-pressed to think of a more dangerous pursuit,' he said. 'Perhaps being shot out of a cannon.' Dr Cohen, a former senior lecturer at Sydney University, sits on the advisory board of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, the medical advisory panel of the NSW Combat Sports Authority, and helped create the Australian Sports Brain Bank. Asked if he was surprised by the online popularity of Run It Straight, he replied: 'I'm not, in the same way people thought 2000 years ago that going down to the Colosseum on a Saturday afternoon to watch some Christians being fed to the lions sounded like a good day out. As a culture, we have a history we should not be particularly proud of in enjoying blood sports. 'The idea that we should be creating new ones with what we know about brain health and about the dangers, it's absolutely ludicrous.' Dr Cohen said a major concern was a lack of regulation. 'Unfortunately, this is not a sport and it's certainly not a combat sport that comes under their legislation. So, as a society, we need to look at this and decide it's a bad idea,' he said. 'I don't know who in the government is prepared to put up their hand and say that's the case but if they did there'd be a lot of people that would agree with them, not least the parents and friends of this poor kid in NZ.' A spokesman for NSW Sports Minister Steve Kamper said: 'We can't legislate against every bad idea. If you want to play contact sport, sign up to your local club so you can learn to play in a safe environment'. Mr Perkins said Run It Straight did not align with 'any of our advice when it comes to protecting Australians from concussions and brain injuries'. 'We want all young people to stay active, but it must be done in a safe way. Let's hope, for the sake of our community, this activity is a phase that is quickly moved on from.' Dr Cohen said the risk attached to major collisions was not always well understood. 'There is no such thing as a tough brain,' he warned. 'And concussions don't just happen from a blow to the head but from energy transferred from a blow anywhere – the head or the body – to the head. 'You can also have a second impact if the head is hitting the ground. So someone's just got to say we don't need this.' Michael Bramble, a father of two boys who has connections to Hunters Hill Rugby Club, has major concerns. 'It's just an unsafe risk that kids should not be taking,' Mr Bramble, whose sons are aged three and five, said. 'If my son came home and said he wanted to take part in the challenge, I'd sit down and have a stern conversation with him about why it's unsafe. I'd be quite worried. 'These kinds of online challenges are a real danger, especially when people don't understand the risks.' He said junior rugby clubs worked hard to provide safe, structured environments. 'At this age, kids start with no contact,' he said. 'As they develop, they're slowly introduced to key aspects like tackling, but only when ready.' While it has racked up tens of millions of views since taking off online earlier this year, the phenomenon has more critics than fans. But the controversy has not deterred Melbourne-based RUNIT, which has distanced itself from the fatal tragedy. 'We do not encourage any copying of the sport as it should only be performed under the strict conditions,' a RUNIT spokesman said. 'RUNIT will continue to educate our followers on the risks associated.' RUNIT founder Rennie Lautolo-Molimau also wrote 'We're here to stay' in an Instagram story on Wednesday. Asofa-Solomona was heavily involved in the early days of RUNIT, appearing in a promotional video in February and attending a trial event with teammates Ryan Papenhuyzen, Jahrome Hughes and Will Warbrick in March. While Asofa-Solomona has since parted ways with RUNIT over safety concerns, promotional material featuring him and his teammates remains online. Asofa-Solomona is now promoting a much safer competition called 'Big Steppa'. A spokesman for the Storm, which is not involved with RUNIT, said Papenhuyzen, Hughes and Warbrick had only attended one event to support Asofa-Solomona. The NRL declined to comment on RUNIT, while Rugby Australia said it wanted 'absolutely nothing to do with it.' Originally published as 'Barbaric': Viral social media craze slammed as after teen's death
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE A teenager died taking part in this latest internet craze. Here's why a leading brain doctor believes every parent needs to be warned
Australia's leading brain injury expert says an internet craze labelled 'the world's fiercest new collision sport' and which has already killed a teenager is more dangerous than traditional football codes. Run It Straight is a challenge that's gaining popularity with millions of social media users sharing videos of people smashing into each other. The tackle game features two players and involves a ball runner and a tackler standing 20m apart before they run full speed towards each other without protective gear. The aim is to knock the opponent over. It has even been endorsed by some professional rugby players despite warnings that it could give players head trauma and a brain injury. A Run It Straight event was recently hosted in Auckland, with organisers promoting it as 'the world's fiercest new collision sport,' which rewarded 'strength and grit'. More than 1,000 people watched eight men compete for a $20,000 prize. Winners of that competition were supposed to go to Auckland's Trust Arena for a final competition to compete for $250,000. But the stadium canned the event due to the 'overwhelming concern' the trials caused. 'Following the trials, it was clear from commentary that there was overwhelming concern for the high-risk nature of the event,' the arena's general manager said. A 19-year-old from New Zealand died on Monday after suffering a serious head injury in a backyard version of Run It Straight. Ryan Satterthwaite, from Palmerston North, passed away after taking part in the full-contact collision game with friends when the injury occurred. The death sparked renewed calls for the game to be banned. Dr Rowena Mobbs is a neurologist and the founder and director of the Australian CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) Biobank. She slammed the new craze and told Daily Mail Australia that it was 'not a sport'. 'It is a form of harm and it should be avoided,' she said. 'What we have is data worldwide in terms of concussion and CTE with tackling environments. 'We know that a single traumatic brain injury can be devastating for an individual, leading to lifelong disability or death in some instances. This is likely to involve brain swelling or bleeding.' Dr Mobbs said Run It Straight was even more dangerous than rugby league or Aussie Rules in terms of the brain injury risk. 'In my opinion this is a higher risk scenario than contact sports like the football codes,' she said. 'That's because participants are running at full speed towards each other with a much greater force of impact than on the footy field. 'Parents who have children engaging in this form of harm need to be acutely aware that there could be serous consequences, even death.' Participants of Run It Straight aren't supposed to hit each other in the head but even body shots can impact the brain. Dr Mobbs said whiplash was associated with brain injury. 'In boxing, people sign up knowing the head will be hit, but not in Run It Straight,' she said. Dr Mobbs also said simple concussions were more dangerous and debilitating than most people thought. 'We used to believe that the majority of concussions would resolve pretty quickly but the increasing data suggests otherwise,' she said.
News.com.au
8 hours ago
- Health
- News.com.au
‘Wouldn't put my kids in it': SBW apologises for promoting Run it Straight after New Zealand tragedy
Sonny Bill Williams has apologised for sharing a video promoting 'Run it Straight' just days after a teenager in New Zealand died while playing a similar game with friends. One of the modern game's hardest hitters, Williams played in the pre and post shoulder charge NRL era, and there are plenty of videos on social media of his most brutal tackles. One user found a clip from 2004 of Williams putting a big hit on Penrith's Joel Clinton. Williams shared the footage, to his 1.5 million followers with the caption: 'Playing run it straight before it was called run it straight…' The 39-year-old later apologised after being made aware of the tragedy that took place in New Zealand earlier in the week. Nineteen year old Ryan Satterthwaite died on Monday night after suffering a head injury while playing a private game of 'run it straight' with friends in Palmerston North. Satterthwaite's uncle said he was inspired to give the viral online craze a try after seeing clips of it on social media. 'I put a video up last night, and I just want to ask for forgiveness of the young fulla that passed away,' Williams said in a follow up Instagram story on Saturday. 'Please excuse me for my insensitivity. 'I did not know that had happened. 'I want to talk about it for a second right now. 'I've been asked to collab with the Run it Straight people, or a couple of people, and I haven't. 'Simply because I wouldn't put my kids in it. 'I have safety concerns, and that's just my thoughts on it.' 'Run it straight' has exploded in popularity over the last five months, with videos of big collisions going viral on social media. The new 'sport' has proved controversial though, with dozens of concussion experts, former players, mental health professionals and even Prime Minister of New Zealand condemning the controversial game. Although he has his reservations, Williams believes the trend will continue. 'I'd like weight classes and rules around head contact, but also age and experience classes as well,' he said. 'It's gonna carry on, because people love it. It's entertainment. 'But I'd like to see some heavily controlled safety restrictions come in. 'Once again to the family, my love and regards go out to you guys.' Run it Straight touts itself as the world's newest combat sport. It sees two competitors - one attacker with a rugby ball, and one defender - run directly at each other from opposite ends of a 20m 'battlefield.' The huge collisions have seen scary knockouts, concussions and, in one instance, left a man convulsing on the ground. Run it Straight has been widely criticised for the obvious concussion dangers, and several planned events in New Zealand have been cancelled.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Teen's death sparks calls to ban viral head-on tackle game inspired by American football's biggest hits
A burgeoning new sporting trend inspired by the biggest and hardest full contact hits in American football and rugby has proved deadly, and there's now calls for it to be banned. Branded by an organized league as 'the world's fiercest, new collision sport,' Run It Straight games see two people sprint directly towards each other for a high-impact collision, with no protective gear. Whoever dominates wins. Tens of thousands of dollars are offered up as prize money in organized events in New Zealand and Australia and the game has become a social media craze with teenagers trying it out at home, with fatal consequences. Ryan Satterthwaite died in hospital on Monday after a backyard challenge went tragically wrong in the small city of Palmerston North. New Zealand Police said the 19-year-old suffered a serious head injury. His uncle, Pete Satterthwaite, told CNN affiliate RNZ that Ryan was at a friend's birthday party on Saturday and decided to play a round of the game that's become so popular in New Zealand. Pete Satterthwaite said when he saw local news reports about Run It, he thought the game was a 'stupid idea' and instinctively knew that 'someone is going to get seriously hurt.' He just wasn't expecting it to be his own nephew. 'The ultimate aim is to hurt your opponent, run over the top of him … you're leading with your shoulder, leading with your head,' he said. 'Regardless of whether they have medical staff on site and everybody has a test, it's still the most stupid thing I've ever seen.' New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon urged people not to take part in the tackling game, calling it a 'dumb thing to do.' 'You're hearing the advice from police, from the medical fraternity, from government, from principals saying don't do it,' Luxon told local media on Friday, adding that organizers of formal events should stop them. 'To the adults that are involved in more formal organization of it and are influencing it and leading this out on social media, I think you need to stop and I can't be any clearer,' Luxon said. Following calls for the tackling game to be banned, New Zealand's sport minister Mark Mitchell said on Friday he had sought advice on what measures the government can take to crack down on what he labelled 'unregulated activities that pose a significant level of risk.' The Run It Straight game combines elements of American football and rugby – two sports that have tackling in common but with distinct rules to protect players. Footballers wear a helmet and thick padding to withstand high-impact tackles on the whole body except the head and knees. Rugby players take the field without helmets and with no, or little, padding, while tackles are only allowed below the shoulders. The new game has been popularized in part by by a company called RUNIT Championship League, which says the game was 'born to go viral' and claims to have 'taken social media by storm with tens of millions of views.' CEO and owner Charizma, whose real name is Christian Lesa, says the concept started when he was hospitalized and struggling with mental health, according to an interview with Australian public broadcaster ABC. Lesa said he was inspired by YouTuber Donald De La Haye, nicknamed 'Deestroying,' a Costa Rican-American professional football player who would pit players 1-on-1 for viral clicks. He replicated the concept in Australia and the tournament-like event has spread across New Zealand and the Pacific islands. As followers and subscribers grew on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, RUNIT began hosting championships where participants bull run into each other and the last one standing takes home a cash prize. The finals of the RUNIT league were scheduled in June with 200,000 New Zealand dollars (around $118,800) up for grabs. Run It Straight-type collisions are more than five times the force of a rugby tackle, according to Professor Patria Hume from Auckland University of Technology, who warned there was a high risk of brain injury or death. 'Ryan's death was preventable. It was a backyard copycat of the Runit events which have been designed for social media impact,' Hume said. 'Runit lacks the structure, safety protocols, and purpose of traditional sports. While rugby, boxing, and MMA are inherently physical, they are governed by rules designed to minimize harm and protect athletes.' Stacey Mowbray, CEO of brain injury organization Headway, told CNN the trending game is not a sport, adding it's 'just reckless, glorified violence.' 'We raised the alarm in New Zealand when we heard about the Run It Straight challenge, warning of the high risk of brain injury or death. Social media was used to target our young with a message that this was a bit of fun. It is not. It is deadly,' Mowbray told CNN. 'It's not about the head hitting the ground, it's the impact,' she said. A RUNIT Championship League spokesperson said in a statement that it does not encourage 'any copying of the sport' saying it should only be done under 'strict conditions.' 'All Runit events follow established protocols including screening of participants for suitability, strict guidelines around where and how to tackle (between the shoulders and hips only), with qualified medical support and medical assessments conducted during and after competition,' they told CNN. Alarm bells had already been ringing about the game before the death of Ryan Satterthwaite. Two men were knocked unconscious, with one of them going into a seizure, during a Runit league event at Auckland's Trusts Arena last week. Lynette Adams, interim CEO of the Trusts Arena, told CNN in a statement that 'there has been overwhelming concern for the high-risk nature of Runit style events.' 'Safety of all participants at our venue is paramount and we therefore made the decision not to allow any future Runit events to take place at The Trusts Arena.' High-contact sports like rugby and rugby league are hugely popular in New Zealand and the death of Satterthwaite has put pressure on sporting bodies to take a stronger stance on the Run It Straight trend. New Zealand Rugby issued a statement warning people 'not to take part in Run It Straight games or competitions as they carry significant risk of serious injury.' 'Those wanting to play contact sports should register for a school or club team and learn in a controlled and safe environment how to tackle safely and the art of evasion,' the statement said. A number of New Zealand schools have moved to ban students from playing the game on school grounds and it has also been banned from some public parks in the country's biggest city, Auckland, by a local council board. David Bovey, rector of Palmerston North Boys' High School which Ryan Satterthwaite attended several years ago, said he had been planning to warn his students about the risks of playing Run It Straight on campus before he heard about Ryan's death. 'It's an absolute tragedy… you can almost say something like this was almost going to happen,' Bovey told RNZ, adding he received the news just 20 minutes before he was due to address the students on Monday. 'Teenage boys are terrible at thinking about consequences and they never think anything is going to happen to them and so, you know, something like this I think really hit home in terms of the message we are trying to give the boys – 'this is something I shouldn't be doing.''
CNN
2 days ago
- Health
- CNN
Teen's death sparks calls to ban viral head-on tackle game inspired by American football's biggest hits
A burgeoning new sporting trend inspired by the biggest and hardest full contact hits in American football and rugby has proved deadly, and there's now calls for it to be banned. Branded by an organized league as 'the world's fiercest, new collision sport,' Run It Straight games see two people sprint directly towards each other for a high-impact collision, with no protective gear. Whoever dominates wins. Tens of thousands of dollars are offered up as prize money in organized events in New Zealand and Australia and the game has become a social media craze with teenagers trying it out at home, with fatal consequences. Ryan Satterthwaite died in hospital on Monday after a backyard challenge went tragically wrong in the small city of Palmerston North. New Zealand Police said the 19-year-old suffered a serious head injury. His uncle, Pete Satterthwaite, told CNN affiliate RNZ that Ryan was at a friend's birthday party on Saturday and decided to play a round of the game that's become so popular in New Zealand. Pete Satterthwaite said when he saw local news reports about Run It, he thought the game was a 'stupid idea' and instinctively knew that 'someone is going to get seriously hurt.' He just wasn't expecting it to be his own nephew. 'The ultimate aim is to hurt your opponent, run over the top of him … you're leading with your shoulder, leading with your head,' he said. 'Regardless of whether they have medical staff on site and everybody has a test, it's still the most stupid thing I've ever seen.' New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon urged people not to take part in the tackling game, calling it a 'dumb thing to do.' 'You're hearing the advice from police, from the medical fraternity, from government, from principals saying don't do it,' Luxon told local media on Friday, adding that organizers of formal events should stop them. 'To the adults that are involved in more formal organization of it and are influencing it and leading this out on social media, I think you need to stop and I can't be any clearer,' Luxon said. Following calls for the tackling game to be banned, New Zealand's sport minister Mark Mitchell said on Friday he had sought advice on what measures the government can take to crack down on what he labelled 'unregulated activities that pose a significant level of risk.' The Run It Straight game combines elements of American football and rugby – two sports that have tackling in common but with distinct rules to protect players. Footballers wear a helmet and thick padding to withstand high-impact tackles on the whole body except the head and knees. Rugby players take the field without helmets and with no, or little, padding, while tackles are only allowed below the shoulders. The new game has been popularized in part by by a company called RUNIT Championship League, which says the game was 'born to go viral' and claims to have 'taken social media by storm with tens of millions of views.' CEO and owner Charizma, whose real name is Christian Lesa, says the concept started when he was hospitalized and struggling with mental health, according to an interview with Australian public broadcaster ABC. Lesa said he was inspired by YouTuber Donald De La Haye, nicknamed 'Deestroying,' a Costa Rican-American professional football player who would pit players 1-on-1 for viral clicks. He replicated the concept in Australia and the tournament-like event has spread across New Zealand and the Pacific islands. As followers and subscribers grew on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, RUNIT began hosting championships where participants bull run into each other and the last one standing takes home a cash prize. The finals of the RUNIT league were scheduled in June with 200,000 New Zealand dollars (around $118,800) up for grabs. Run It Straight-type collisions are more than five times the force of a rugby tackle, according to Professor Patria Hume from Auckland University of Technology, who warned there was a high risk of brain injury or death. 'Ryan's death was preventable. It was a backyard copycat of the Runit events which have been designed for social media impact,' Hume said. 'Runit lacks the structure, safety protocols, and purpose of traditional sports. While rugby, boxing, and MMA are inherently physical, they are governed by rules designed to minimize harm and protect athletes.' Stacey Mowbray, CEO of brain injury organization Headway, told CNN the trending game is not a sport, adding it's 'just reckless, glorified violence.' 'We raised the alarm in New Zealand when we heard about the Run It Straight challenge, warning of the high risk of brain injury or death. Social media was used to target our young with a message that this was a bit of fun. It is not. It is deadly,' Mowbray told CNN. 'It's not about the head hitting the ground, it's the impact,' she said. A RUNIT Championship League spokesperson said in a statement that it does not encourage 'any copying of the sport' saying it should only be done under 'strict conditions.' 'All Runit events follow established protocols including screening of participants for suitability, strict guidelines around where and how to tackle (between the shoulders and hips only), with qualified medical support and medical assessments conducted during and after competition,' they told CNN. Alarm bells had already been ringing about the game before the death of Ryan Satterthwaite. Two men were knocked unconscious, with one of them going into a seizure, during a Runit league event at Auckland's Trusts Arena last week. Lynette Adams, interim CEO of the Trusts Arena, told CNN in a statement that 'there has been overwhelming concern for the high-risk nature of Runit style events.' 'Safety of all participants at our venue is paramount and we therefore made the decision not to allow any future Runit events to take place at The Trusts Arena.' High-contact sports like rugby and rugby league are hugely popular in New Zealand and the death of Satterthwaite has put pressure on sporting bodies to take a stronger stance on the Run It Straight trend. New Zealand Rugby issued a statement warning people 'not to take part in Run It Straight games or competitions as they carry significant risk of serious injury.' 'Those wanting to play contact sports should register for a school or club team and learn in a controlled and safe environment how to tackle safely and the art of evasion,' the statement said. A number of New Zealand schools have moved to ban students from playing the game on school grounds and it has also been banned from some public parks in the country's biggest city, Auckland, by a local council board. David Bovey, rector of Palmerston North Boys' High School which Ryan Satterthwaite attended several years ago, said he had been planning to warn his students about the risks of playing Run It Straight on campus before he heard about Ryan's death. 'It's an absolute tragedy… you can almost say something like this was almost going to happen,' Bovey told RNZ, adding he received the news just 20 minutes before he was due to address the students on Monday. 'Teenage boys are terrible at thinking about consequences and they never think anything is going to happen to them and so, you know, something like this I think really hit home in terms of the message we are trying to give the boys – 'this is something I shouldn't be doing.''
