Lumsden is a former CFL football star. Pictured: MPP Neil Lumsden. Photo Credit: Neil Lumsden/X.
Local Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Neil Lumsden, who represents Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, recently announced that he will be donating his brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation Canada (CLFC) for concussion research.
Lumsden is a former football player who competed in the high contact sport in high school, university, and as a professional athlete in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Other high-profile athletes such as Hayley Wickenheiser (hockey), Jonathan Huberdeau (hockey), and Andy Fantuz (football) have previously pledged their brains to research.
Lumsden made the announcement on the field at University of Toronto’s Varsity Stadium.
CLFC says that brain donations are “pivotal to the research that will unlock critical insights into the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease linked to repetitive head trauma.”
Lumsden played football in high school in Toronto, then played for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, winning the 1975 Vanier Cup, before playing for the Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Edmonton Eskimos.
He won three Grey Cups with the Edmonton Eskimos between 1980 to 1982.
“I am fortunate to have played a high-collision sport for many years without experiencing any negative effects from concussions, but many of my teammates have not been as lucky,” said Lumsden.
“With this donation, I hope to support ongoing research that will help protect athletes in the future.”
But Lumsden also had another message.
“I urge our federal, provincial, and territorial partners to follow Ontario’s lead and enact Rowan’s Law to protect young athletes – and athletes of all ages – nationwide,” he said.
Rowan’s Law was introduced by the Ontario government in 2018 and lays out requirements for sports organizations and school boards when it comes to identifying and addressing potential concussions.
Ontario’s Rowan’s Law was the first legislation of its kind in Canada.
Rowan’s Law is named in honour of 17-year-old Ottawa rugby player Rowan Stringer, who died in 2013 after multiple concussions.
Additionally, Lumsden announced that the Ontario Ministry of Sport will be providing up to $52,500 to CLFC for a research project on traumatic brain injuries.
CLFC is partnering with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) on that project, which will explore brain injuries and the psychological effects of concussions and repetitive head impacts.
“For the first time in Ontario, this province-wide project will establish the patterns of, and risk factors for sports-related traumatic brain injury and examine its impact on mental health,” said CAMH scientist and lead investigator Dr. Jesse Young.
The Ontario government also commemorated the sixth annual Rowan’s Law Day on September 25, 2024, and released the sixth Rowan’s Law progress report, which outlines Ontario’s progress addressing the 21 recommendations of the Rowan’s Law Advisory Committee to help protect young athletes.
The government says that, as of this year, all of those recommendations have now either been implemented or are in progress, which they say makes Ontario “a continued leader in concussion safety.”
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
