Latest news with #SeaEagles'
Daily Mail
30-04-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Teal MP Sophie Scamps is blasted in live radio train wreck as she makes grovelling apology to family of footy star Keith Titmuss who died aged just 20
Teal MP Sophie Scamps has made a grovelling apology to the family of Manly NRL player Keith Titmuss after she linked his tragic death to climate change. Dr Scamps, the independent member for Mackellar on Sydney 's northern beaches, suggested 'lethal humidity' could have been why the 20-year-old died following a gruelling Sea Eagles' training session at their Narrabeen base. Titmuss's family blasted Scamps' remarks on Tuesday, and she made the apology during an intense interview with 2GB radio star Ben Fordham on Wednesday morning. 'Of course, if there's any distress or upset, deeply, deeply sorry. That was never my intention at all,' Scamps said. Fordham then chastised Scamps for saying 'if there's any distress or upset', pointing out the fact that the statement from Titmuss's mother proved 'clearly she is really, really upset'. The announcer followed that by criticising Scamps - who is a medical doctor with experience working in a hospital emergency department and as a GP - for 'delving into the specific case of a deceased patient you've never treated'. Sea Eagles forward Keith Titmuss (pictured) was just 20 years old when he died after what a corner branded an 'inappropriate' level of exercise during a training session 'I didn't actually mention the young man by name, nor did I ever say that it [his death] was directly linked to climate change,' Scamps replied. 'It's very unfortunate that I've upset the family but it's all about healthy, young people - our bodies are not adapted to dealing with humidity.' 'I'm already getting messages from people saying, why didn't Sophie Scamps apologise yesterday when it was brought to her attention?' Fordham asked. 'I don't have their [the family's] number, unfortunately,' Scamps said. A coronial inquest last year found Titmuss died of exertional heatstroke after an 'inappropriately difficult' session. Medical experts told the inquest Titmuss's higher body mass and lower aerobic fitness levels compared to his teammates were risk factors that contributed to him overheating from exertion on the 'mild' 24C day that November. One of the paramedics who treated the rising star while he was having a seizure measured his temperature at nearly 42C, which was the highest they had ever seen. Deputy State Coroner Derek Lee found Manly's training session was 'more likely than not inappropriate'. Lee did not reference 'lethal humidity' in his findings. Dr Scamps has come under fire after speaking at a Doctors for the Environment Australia event in February where she predicted 'lethal humidity' would become widespread due to climate change. She referenced Titmuss's death without naming him. Dr Scamps made the remarks in relation to the 'the death of the young man, the rugby league player'. 'One of the things that really struck me – we've got this thing called lethal humidity now,' she said. 'With every rise of one degree in temperature you have seven degrees increased per cent in humidity, so the death of that young man – and I'm not saying – the death of the young man the rugby league player when it was 33 degrees a very humid day, died from heat stress – you know, after a training session. 'That type of lethal humidity is something that the medical fraternity is getting more and more concerned about. 'Apparently, the human body can survive up to 54 degrees Celsius – it's pretty hot. 'But, with high-level humidity, that level comes down to kind of 33, even 31 degrees, so it's something to consider.' Titmuss's mother Lafo was shattered after being informed of Dr Scamps' comments. 'I'm disappointed that [Scamps] is using my son's name to try and gain political points when all she needed to do was read Derek Lee's findings, which mention nothing about climate change,' she told News Corp. A spokeswoman for Dr Scamps again referenced 'lethal humidity' when queried about her controversial comments about the budding rugby league star. 'Sophie and the entire Northern Beaches community are desperately sad for the Titmuss family after the terrible tragedy of Keith's death, which the Coroner's Court found was caused by exertional heat stroke,' the spokeswoman said. 'As a doctor and former elite athlete, Sophie takes the threat of lethal humidity extremely seriously. As parents, we do not want our kids to have to train and compete in conditions that put their health at risk. Sophie will continue to push for action to ensure a safe working environment for all athletes, young and old.'
The Guardian
27-02-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
More games, more fans and more coverage as NRL eyes profit from Las Vegas punt
Bigger, bolder and better. The desert dust had barely settled on the NRL's first trip to Las Vegas before league boss Andrew Abdo was doubling down. With a longer runway to plan and prepare for the rugby league extravaganza the next time around, the NRL chief executive was soon promising to go even larger. Now that the league has arrived at its destination, there are more fans in town, more events on the ground, and teams from more countries putting the finishing touches on their own show. Twice as many matches as last year are still to come when all the off-field glitz and glamour are put to one side and the quadruple-header finally kicks off at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday (Sunday AEDT). The NRL was quick to talk up the wins, no matter how big or small, from its first foray on to the rocky terrain of the US sporting landscape last year. A crowd of 40,746 was the largest for a rugby league game on American soil. More than 23,000 of those tickets were sold in the US. Tickets were bought in another 30 countries. New subscriptions to the international streaming app Watch NRL soared 167% – admittedly from a low base – compared to the same period leading into the previous season. And, most hopefully, an average of 61,000 Americans households watched the Sea Eagles' win over the Rabbitohs, while 44,000 later watched the Roosters defeat the Broncos. The gamble to start the season in the US in the hope of attracting global attention instead found its biggest payoff closer to home. The Australian television audience smashed the record viewership for a season opener by 10.5% while also becoming the most watched regular-season game in history, as a combined 4.11 million watched the double-header. The hype surrounding the first jaunt to Las Vegas, and heavy support from a media contingent helpfully in tow, jolted the league into a record-breaking season and has since taken on a life of its own. 'We were very, very keen on the event as a big stunt that starts the Australian season,' Foxtel Group chief executive, Patrick Delany, tells Guardian Australia. 'The extraordinary thing about this is it has become a massive Australian event even though it's not in Australia.' Ticket sales to the four matches that will begin with Super League sides Wigan and Warrington squaring off have already surpassed the total number sold last year. Adding a pair of clubs from the rugby league hotbed of northern England to the program, as well as a historic women's international between the Lionesses and Jillaroos, has ensured that twice as many fans are travelling from the UK this time. More than 20,000 Australians are making the much longer sojourn to Las Vegas, compared to 15,000 in 2024. Whether as many fans from the United States, regardless of that number being boosted by expats originally from the competing nations, can push the crowd figure closer to the stadium capacity 65,000 remains to be seen. The NRL might be well on its way to creating a new destination event that Delany calls a 'second Magic Round' but its hopes of expansion, long held up as a key pillar of the Las Vegas experiment, more likely rest on finding a way into more American homes. Foxtel, with its sporting arms Fox Sports and streaming platform Kayo, is a critical partner in that journey and helped leverage relationships to secure a spot on free-to-air channel Fox for the NRL opener between the Raiders and Warriors. It will be the first NRL premiership game shown freely on US television, though it was a misstep not to schedule the Panthers and Sharks in the time slot if only to showcase the four-time premiers and the talents of their star playmaker Nathan Cleary to a fresh audience. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion Gambling, along with the occasional hints of bad behaviour, are familiar clouds hanging over the Las Vegas venture. Australian Rugby League Commission boss Peter V'landys earlier this week talked up 'a possibility that we'll actually return a profit on Vegas', but while ticket sales and streaming subscriptions are tracking in the right direction, and new sponsorships have been announced, there has been little talk about reaching the promised land of the lucrative US sports betting market. For now, the view seems to be; if you broadcast it, they will come. For all the backslapping after the NRL's first visit to Las Vegas, and typically brash talk from rugby league bosses of putting on a bigger, bolder and better show this time, there is still much to be done to live up to their much grander plans.
