Former Wigan Warriors star John Bateman hits out against 160 claimants in legal action

[josie andrews]

Former Wigan star and current England international John Bateman has took to social media against the 160 former players who have taken legal action on the Rugby Football League.

Legal proceedings were formally issued against the RFL last year by former players, contending the sport was negligent in failing to take reasonable action to protect them from serious brain injuries.

It has seen a crackdown on head contact in the game, with a Letter of Claim first served in 2022 by a group then of 75.

Bateman, who won two Grand Finals with Wigan, has hit out against the legal proceedings.

Replying to recent reports by Examiner Live, claiming a person who played in Super League last year is among the 160 claimants, Bateman wrote:

“160 former players who knew what they signed up for when they started playing.

“Took every penny they could while playing, now taking action against Rugby Football League because they haven’t got a penny of that left.

"Come on man!”

https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugby- ... on-4554275

[josie andrews]

Danny Sculthorpe is saying the same thing.

https://x.com/danscully8/status/1767948 ... 63389?s=12

He’s having an operation for a brain tumour in June

[Fujiman]

Was listening to James Grahams latest podcast today (Jam&Cheese) were he told a story about Nic Fozzard who is one of the main men in this and it was interesting to say the least.

[Blackpool_Pie]

Was listening to James Grahams latest podcast today (Jam&Cheese) were he told a story about Nic Fozzard who is one of the main men in this and it was interesting to say the least.

Fozzard is an idiot. For years (and now still I think) he has championed how violent he was on the field. Constantly posting videos of him fighting or making, what would be now - illegal shots on opponants. For him to be one of the main guys suing RL is an absolute disgrace

[the pieman]

Was listening to James Grahams latest podcast today (Jam&Cheese) were he told a story about Nic Fozzard who is one of the main men in this and it was interesting to say the least.

Fozzard is an idiot. For years (and now still I think) he has championed how violent he was on the field. Constantly posting videos of him fighting or making, what would be now - illegal shots on opponants. For him to be one of the main guys suing RL is an absolute disgrace

yep, seen some of his stuff on twitter recently and when i last saw was regularly getting into arguments with past and current players. Think there may be some friendships broken after this as its causing a bad taste with lots of players past and present

[TravellingWarrior]

according to Yorkshire Live, one of the claimants was playing in Super league last year:

A person who played in Super League last year is among the claimants taking action against the Rugby Football League. Legal proceedings were formally issued against the Rugby Football League last year, with those involved claiming the sport was negligent in taking reasonable action to protect them from serious brain injuries.

it also goes on to state that:

The majority of the claimants remain anonymous, and for legal reasons, the names of those involved cannot be made public. However, Rugby League Live can report that claimants, alongside the aforementioned player, include:

· A current non-playing employee at a club within the RFL league structure
· A former player active in the media industry
· A Great Britain international who won the Super League

Link to Article -> https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/ru ... source=nba

[Blackpool_Pie]

I heard it was Myler

[Barney841]

Former Wigan star and current England international John Bateman has took to social media against the 160 former players who have taken legal action on the Rugby Football League.

Legal proceedings were formally issued against the RFL last year by former players, contending the sport was negligent in failing to take reasonable action to protect them from serious brain injuries.

It has seen a crackdown on head contact in the game, with a Letter of Claim first served in 2022 by a group then of 75.

Bateman, who won two Grand Finals with Wigan, has hit out against the legal proceedings.

Replying to recent reports by Examiner Live, claiming a person who played in Super League last year is among the 160 claimants, Bateman wrote:

“160 former players who knew what they signed up for when they started playing.

“Took every penny they could while playing, now taking action against Rugby Football League because they haven’t got a penny of that left.

"Come on man!”

https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugby- ... on-4554275

I completely agree with John, I said this from the start.
They knew the risks, they could have wore a skull cap if they were worried about head injuries.
It’s a shame but no one put a gun to their heads

[outback wiganer]

John is spot on with his views and comments. Every job has certain risks that we all know about before we accept the job. As for Fozzard, he was probably one of the dirtiest players to play the game. Intentionally hitting players to hurt them. It's a disgrace what these ex players are doing now.

[Mike]

Did they know about the risk of dementia and very serious mental heath issues before they started playing? The current generation certainly should do, but most of this has come out in the last 10 years or so. IMO mental health issues are very different to bad knees or broken bones. They are up there with cancer etc. If you worked in the nuclear power industry and found out that you and your colleagues had a much higher rate of cancer than the general population - would you be saying "oh well, we knew the risks when we took the job..."? Or would you be looking for support and to make sure that doesn't happen again?