The Athlete’s Voice Committee is an interesting new development in the ever-evolving combat sports landscape. The group is seeking change and education, starting with small steps and advocating for warning labels on combat sport safety equipment, including headgear and gloves. The idea is to push for awareness and education about trauma that can occur from sports. 

Established by the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports last year to empower athletes, they have proposed a straightforward request in asking manufacturers to prominently display warnings on gloves, shinguards, and headgear detailing safety limitations.

What they want listed is: “WARNING – This product does not protect the user nor their training partners from traumatic brain injury, including concussion and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).”

The group contends there is a need for clearer information about equipment’s limitations and the potential dangers involved with the sport. 

One of the key figures involved is Elena Reid, a former boxer and MMA fighter, and she spoke to BoxingScene about raising awareness

“A simple way to start off is just putting tags on headgear, and asking that they put, ‘This will not protect you from traumatic brain injury or CTE’,” Reid said.

The idea is to present individuals partaking in the sport with enough knowledge that they can give well-informed consent and make more informed decisions.

“As a parent of young children who play football and other sports, there are so many pamphlets you have to take training, for your kids to play the sport – and in boxing and MMA you don’t see anything anywhere,” Reid went on. “I've been boxing forever and I don’t remember anyone asking me, ‘Are you a little dizzy?’ Or saying, ‘You got hit really hard, maybe you should take a day off because of concussion’.

“Headgear will help you not get as many cuts, but to think it is going to protect you from a traumatic brain injury or CTE down the road, that is not true. People should know that.”

The group also points to research by the Association of Ringside Physicians that cites the following passage: “Headguards should not be relied upon to reduce the risk of concussion or other traumatic brain injury. They have not been shown to prevent these types of injuries in combat sports or other sports.”