Concussion Expert Paul McCrory and the Consensus Group

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Paul McCrory is an internationally renowned concussion expert. He was part of a consensus group putting out reports that remain hugely influential and are seen as somewhat of a gold standard. A professor of sports engineering at Sheffield Hallam University, Dr. Steve Harg, reported to the BJSM that much of an editorial by McCrory published back in 2005 had actually been repeated verbatim from an article Hark had written in 2000. That was picked up by a group called Retraction Watch, which is run by Nick Brown and his friend James Heathers. They found more and more incidences of plagiarism in his work. This culminated last week when the BJSM announced they were attracting nine

Dr Paul McCrory is a world-renowned concussion expert whose work shaped concussion policy across global sport for the past 20 years. In his work, and through his role on the influential Concussion in Sport Group, McCrory had previously adopted a sceptical view on the link between concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) – a progressive brain condition whose symptoms are similar to Alzheimer’s disease. Last week, the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) retracted nine of his articles and attached an ‘expression of concern’ to another 74. In an editorial, the BJSM, and its publisher, BMJ, stated that ‘their trust in McCrory’s work –specifically the articles that he has published as a single author – is broken’. Ian Sample speaks to senior sports writer Andy Bull about how the scandal unfolded, what it could mean for players and what is likely to happen next. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod