Exploring the business case for prioritising athlete safety in community sport: a Delphi study

Drawing on the Delphi method, and notwithstanding the moral and legal imperatives tied to safe sport, this research note explores the business case for prioritising athlete safety in community sport. Drawing on rugby union as a case study context, the study salience is set against growing concerns associated with collision sport and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). CTE is a neurodegenerative pathology associated with traumatic brain injury linked to neurodegenerative disease among athletes, including former rugby union players (Russell, E. R., Mackay, D. F., Lyall, D., Stewart, K., MacLean, J. A., Robson, J., Pell, J. P., & Stewart, W. (2022). Neurodegenerative disease risk among former international rugby union players. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 93(12), 1262–1268).