Hurdling

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by asdf

You asked why the rules committee wrote the rule as it currently is and i gave you the answer. The potential for a serious neck injury is much greater from the front than from the rear.

Unless the player injured was trying to use the head as a weapon by presenting it top first, that's not true. The risk of serious neck injury is far greater from flexion than from dorsiflexion. Dorsiflexion is what results from the head's being bent back, i.e. a front hit, while flexion results from the head's being bent forward, i.e. a hit on the back of the head.