The Rugby League Players Association defended former player Alex McKinnon’s right to sue the National Rugby League over the tackle that left him paralyzed, according to the AAP. The former Newcastle forward is "readying legal action against the game’s governing body" over the '14 tackle which left him "wheelchair bound." The NRL said that "no claim had been lodged" but it had been in contact with McKinnon’s lawyer. The lawsuit is "also reported to include Melbourne’s Jordan McLean, who was handed a seven-game ban for his involvement in a three-man spear tackle that left McKinnon with a spinal injury." The RLPA said that McKinnon’s injury "had been life-altering and people should consider his position before judging him." The organization said in a statement, "Alex has the right to pursue any and all legal options available to him in relation to his injury and it is appropriate that he has engaged his own legal representatives to assist him" (AAP, 12/18). THE AUSTRALIAN's Margie McDonald reported McKinnon "could have a difficult task ahead of him trying to extract a multi-million-dollar compensation claim" from both the NRL and McLean. Sydney lawyer Sam Macedone said that "a payout of a couple of million dollars was more realistic," despite the fact that wheelchair users often have annual costs between A$300,000 ($217,500) and A$500,000 ($362,400) above those of the "average able-bodied person." Macedone: "It doesn't matter how much it costs for his care, you have first got to prove negligence. Unless you prove that, you don’t get anything" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 12/20). In Sydney, Adam Pengilly reported the NRL "might have been aware a blanket ban on lifting tackles" in the wake of the McKinnon injury "could have been used" against it in court proceedings, with the "public comments of head office's top brass set to be pored over in detail" during a multi-million dollar damages case. In the weeks after McKinnon was paralyzed, former NRL Head of Football Todd Greenberg "resisted pressure to abolish lifting tackles." Instead the NRL "publicly claimed there would be a crackdown on the tackling technique from the match review committee" and that "players need to be aware that the onus of responsibility is on them" or risk "beefed up sanctions." Sydney sports lawyer John de Mestre said that "League Central's decision not to prohibit lifting tackles would be scrutinised." De Mestre: "It's clear Mr. Greenberg seemed to be aware of the issue because he was very careful to say we're not going to change a rule, but just enforce the rule [more stringently]. It will be open to a court to interpret whether something like that should have been done earlier or not" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 12/19).
