One of the world's leading experts on CTE has labelled St George Illawarra forward James Graham "confused"over the issue of brain trauma, while Fairfax journalist Peter FitzSimons calls the Dragons' decision to publish an article penned by Graham "irresponsible."
Graham and FitzSimons have been engaged in a running feud around the issue over the past week.
After going back and forth in the paper and on TV, the pair cleared the air over a phone call this week.
FitzSimons, who has covered the issue extensively, then wrote a follow-up piece in the Sydney Morning Herald after the phone call, relaying the thoughts of world renowned CTE expert Dr Chris Nowinski.
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According to FitzSimons, Nowinski had been following their debate and growing increasingly concerned with Graham's arguments.
"While I applaud any athlete who makes the effort to independently research concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, I am extremely concerned about Mr Graham's confused understanding of the CTE literature," Nowinski wrote in an email to the journalist.
He goes on to say Graham has badly misrepresented or confused the stats discovered in a Canadian study of the issue, and points out some more relevant and revealing information in research conducted at the Mayo Clinic.
Nowinski finished by saying he's worried that Australian atheletes are receiving "biased" coverage on the CTE issue.
"I know that there are prominent sports medicine doctors in Australia that disparage CTE as ‘hoo-ha’, and I am very concerned that active Australian athletes are receiving biased information on CTE that downplays its significance," he wrote.
"It would not be fair to ask athletes to perform this dangerous job after being misinformed about CTE.
"In that scenario, they would not be able to provide informed consent.”
FitzSimons argues that if Graham has been given misleading information by anyone at his club, legal issues could be raised.
He also hit back at a statement Graham made that was published on the Dragons' website.
"While I appreciate the Dragons’ gesture in publishing your piece, the fact it was posted without subsequent fact-checking and research, is nothing short of irresponsible," FitzSimons wrote.
