RelianceRisk

Former top FIFA official Jack Warner has been accused of stealing a $462,000 stadium development donation that was given to his football organisation by Football Federation Australia (FFA) in 2010. Head of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) at the time, Warner allegedly met with FFA representatives who agreed to deposit the funds into an account he controlled. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the grant was intended for the upgrade of the Marvin Lee Stadium in a bid to host the World Cup, but was “never recorded” by the FFA, who have assisted the recent investigation into the funds.… Continue reading »

The contentious issue of head injuries in rugby league has again been brought into the spotlight following the tragic death of a teenager playing “the game he loved”. The grandson of former rugby great Tommy Raudonikis,  15-year-old Jake Kedzlie was playing in an Under-16s match on the North Coast of NSW, when his head collided with another player’s knee as he went in for a tackle. Collapsing to the ground and not regaining consciousness, Kedzlie was taken by ambulance to Coffs Harbour Hospital where he was pronounced brain-dead and sadly died days later after his life support was turned off. Raudonikis, the former Kangaroos Captain told the Sydney Morning Herald that the injury occurred during a “very standard tackle”, and labelled the incident a “freak accident”.… Continue reading »

The removal of a rainbow pedestrian crossing on Oxford Street has sparked a public debate centred on the risk of safety issues versus gay pride and tolerance. Painted on the busy 6-lane intersection at Taylors Square, the “colourful crossing” was to be a temporary display marking the 35^th anniversary of the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. The paint was set to be removed at the start of April, however wet weather delayed the process and saw a backlash of protestors on social media sites and in the media, most of whom expressed anger about the “mean” decision to remove the symbol of “respect and tolerance”, as the Sydney Morning Herald reports.… Continue reading »

A devastating bomb attack at a Boston marathon event caused 3 deaths and 176 injuries to good-intentioned partakers and spectators, turning the charitable event into a tragedy and sparking fresh fears for terrorism at public events. As reported by The Courier Mail, just before 3pm local time on Monday April 15, two bombs exploded within 100 metres of each other near the finish line of the race at Copley Square where over 500, 000 spectators had gathered in support for the 23, 000 runners. With no-one confessing responsibility by the Thursday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released images from nearby surveillance cameras of two males in an appeal to the public to help identify the suspects.… Continue reading »

The recent sacking of NRL Canberra Raiders player Josh Dugan has highlighted the ever-expanding role that social media can play in exposing high profile people to widespread public criticism. In what ‘The Courier Mail’ reported as a reaction to followers’ inappropriate and nasty comments, 22-year-old Dugan posted “abusive content” on several social media sites. News of this was quickly spread through mainstream media online coverage, and while Dugan has since apologised for his “bad words”, he pointed out that he is only human and is a “normal person like anyone else”. Perhaps Dugan should have been more mindful of the fact that as a professional sportsperson, on the social media sites he has a myriad of followers, supporters and sponsors who read his posted “expletive-laden…rants”.… Continue reading »

The failure of four members of the Australian cricket team to do homework set for them by the Australian Coach led to their suspension before the third Test in India, and sparked public outrage and jokes at the expense of the team on the internet. Having lost the first two test matches in Mohali, according to ABC News, Coach Mickey Arthur asked players including James Pattinson, Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Johnson and Vice-Captain Shane Watson to prepare a 3-point presentation on what they could “mentally and technically” bring to the team to get through the remaining Test matches. After the quartet failed to do so, Arthur cited a “breach of team discipline” as the reason for making the players unavailable for selection for the upcoming Test.… Continue reading »

A fun-run participant in St. Lucia, Brisbane has tragically died in hospital from severe head injuries sustained when he was struck by falling tree branch. Canadian tourist Joe Kelly, 58, was participating in the Twilight Running Festival when a thunderstorm hit and a tree branch cracked and fell along Sir Fred Schonell Drive at approximately 6.30pm on the event day.  According to the Sydney Morning Herald, he was taken unconscious and “in a critical condition” by emergency services to Princess Alexandra Hospital where he sadly died six days later. As SBS News reports, the “super cell storm” that caused the branch to fall “lashed southeast Queensland for hours” after beginning at around 6pm.… Continue reading »

A power outage at a Cairns cable-car attraction on Saturday 23 March left 54 tourists “swinging in the breeze” at 40 metre heights for over four hours. The Skyrail Rainforest Cableway is usually a 2.5 hour experience that travels 7.5km over Barron River Falls and Red Peak. It has a multi-core communications cable in the middle of the towers which carries all safety circuit and voice communications. According to the Courier Mail, two cableways went ‘offline’ after a tree fell onto the electrical power system at approximately 4.20pm.  While one cableway was working within an hour, the other took until 8.30pm to reactivate.… Continue reading »

A Nationwide Series race of the renowned NASCAR in Florida last month had shocking outcomes not only for the drivers, but for over thirty spectators after a spectacular crash took place. Several cars became tightly packed as they raced towards the finish line, and a collision between over twelve of them in the last curve of the race caused driver Kyle Larson’s car to bounce onto the track wall. The Telegraph reported that the impact caused the front end of Larson’s car to be “severely torn off”, and the tyre, engine and suspension parts landed in the fencing that separated the track from the spectators.… Continue reading »

Former AFL great Greg Williams has again spoken out about his belief in the connection between head trauma suffered during high contact sports and degenerative brain disease, as a recent Channel 7 interview revealed.  During the interview the 1995 Carlton premiership star conceded that head trauma suffered throughout his 250-game long career that ended in 1997, has left him unable to remember not only much of the games he played in, but his honeymoon and children’s names. The Age reported that Williams is suffering mood swings, increased aggression, depression and memory loss, all of which are symptoms of the disease caused by ‘repeated blows to the head’, or Chronic Trauma Encephalopathy (CTE).… Continue reading »