It was perhaps not the exceptional achievements of championship winning clubs from across Ulster that made the most telling of impressions following the AIB Ulster Club Championship Launch at Slaughtneil last week.
That prize went to the words of Dr Dermot Grant, as he warned of the risks of striking an opponent in the heat of battle.
If this rather grave message was not illustrated with sufficient clarity, the proposition advanced by Dr Grant, that the average GAA game carried significantly higher risk than a professional boxing match; surely most remove any haze around this issue.
Such warnings are not made in the abstract prism of the “never never”.
A cursory examination of social media over the last number of months, offers a very clear and real context as to the motivation behind why Dr Grant, and many others, are speaking with such gravity about this issue.
In recent months we have seen club matches in Tyrone, Derry and Down make off-field headlines, following ill-tempered club encounters.
Stories of mass brawls and injury will always demand publicity and media attention.
The spotlight is now firmly fixed on the relevant authorities as many query what will be done about all of this.
This is a fair question to ask.
It would be churlish to think that the GAA should take no action to wind in what appears to be an escalating problem (perhaps unfairly amplified from days gone by through the viral nature of social media).
What can sometimes be lost in this loud chorus for action, is the notion that players who walk onto the field of play, do so armed with personal responsibility for their actions.
This was something touched upon by the former Armagh player Diarmaid Mardsen, who also attended the Club Championship Launch.
When watching some of the footage that has at times enveloped social media platforms, it can be difficult to understand some of the reckless abandon displayed by participants.
This goes to the core of the issue.
When players engage in such rash behaviour, the lack of consequence in how players think and act is striking.
Quite apart from issues of sportsmanship and reputation damage, it appears lost on many participants who engage in this type of behaviour that their participation on the field of play does not exist in a bubble.
A participant’s actions towards an opponent do not take place in a legal vacuum merely because the act in question occurs during a competitive game.
There can be legal consequences for actions as is the case in everyday life.
It therefore follows that a deliberate punch or kick in a game might still be considered a criminal assault.
Beyond the sphere of criminal culpability, participants in sports might also find themselves the subject of allegations of negligence and claims for damages.
It should be said from the outset that there is a high threshold to meet for such an action to have any prospects of success.
However, the possibility of civil action, in certain circumstances, should not be ignored.
Negligence is proven if a duty of care exists between one party and another, and if that duty of care is breached, thereby causing damage to the other party.
In a sporting context it is settled law that participants do in fact owe each other a duty of care.
Reckless conduct by one party against another can therefore meet the test for negligence and therefore civil liability, if the act in question is more than what could be considered a mere error in judgment.
If a rugby player spear-tackles an opponent, and if that opponent were to suffer a fractured collar bone, then that same player could well be the subject of civil proceedings for damages arising out of negligence.
In amateur sports there appears to be a reticence to go outside the structures of each particular sport to seek legal remedies.
This is not surprising.
The old adage of “what happens on the pitch stays on the pitch” normally rings true.
What participants appear to prefer is for the internal procedures of their chosen sport to be their source of redress.
There is therefore a clear responsibility on sport governing bodies and competition organisers to adopt robust and thorough processes for investigating incidents which occur on the field of play.
To fail to do so with the necessary vigour is an abdication of duty that goes to the very heart of player welfare.
Such a failure will also surely risk those same participants, who may have initially turned to their own sporting structures for satisfaction, to seek legal redress through more traditional means.
What cannot be in doubt is the absolute necessity for each and every player who takes to the field of play, to take ownership of their actions, while understanding the potential consequences of not doing so.
If that happens more often, then Dr Grant may be able strike a less stark chord the next time he speaks on Gaelic Games.
Compiled by Paul Lenehan (Sports Lawyer at Edwards and Co, Belfast)
Twitter: @paul_lenehan; Email: paul.lenehan@edwardsandcompany.co.uk
