Kain Parsons, 37, died after suffering a severe head injury in a charity boxing match in 2018.
The findings of a coronial inquest into the death of a charity boxer in 2018, criticised by a mother for “pulling my son’s integrity apart”, recommend a tightening up of rules and regulations for future corporate events.
The findings come as the Government proposes to repeal the Boxing and Wrestling Act of 1981.
Kain Parsons died on November 6, 2018 – three days after taking part in the “Fight for Christchurch” charity boxing event at the city’s Horncastle Arena, now Wolfbrook Arena.
He sustained 29 significant blows to the head in less than three minutes, resulting in a brain haemorrhage and severe swelling.
After an inquest in December last year, Coroner Heather McKenzie has made a series of recommendations around better education of participants, communication of training injuries and referee training.
The 141-page report recommends that waivers and medical declarations be signed “as close to the event as reasonably practicable”. It also recommends that they contain specific questions to “draw out whether a competitor has suffered an actual or suspected head injury/concussion”.
Parsons potentially suffered a concussion or head injury during training – weeks before his fight took place. Neither the event promoter nor doctor was made aware of the incident.
Parsons’ family argued that he wasn’t fully aware of the risk involved in the event. The findings recommend greater education for participants.
“Consider a compulsory seminar, say, 12 weeks out from an event for competitors, their trainer, the event doctor, and any other relevant stakeholders. A competitor’s family could be encouraged to attend too,” reads the coroner’s findings.
Parsons’ family is pleased with that aspect of the coroner’s findings.
“We’re pleased about the emphasis on education and proper informed consent, because there never has been informed consent for this,” says Dr Pete Benny, Kain Parsons’ father-in-law.
Kain Parsons was 37 when he climbed into the ring for a charity boxing match. He was a novice fighter – but had a long and storied history of giving.
“[He] would help anyone. All his friends and stuff – he was always doing jobs for them,” says his wife, Alana Parsons.
Alana says her husband enjoyed the boxing training and was “excited” about being asked to participate – but the opportunity to raise money for charity was what “drew him to the event”. Parsons is remembered by his wife as “a great dad” to his three children – and was “just fun to be around”.
“He had so many contacts for an Australian [who] wasn’t brought up in Christchurch. He seemed to know more people in Christchurch than I did, and I lived here all my life. It’s just the person he was really,” said Alana.
Parsons had played rugby up until his death and was known for his teamwork.
“He was just one of those guys that would talk to anyone and then make anyone feel sort of listened to,” said Alana.
It was crucial to the Parsons family that the man who always listened could now be heard, even if he couldn’t be there in person. The coroner’s court would provide that platform and with it an opportunity to push for change in future corporate boxing events.
“He’s not here to defend himself, and it’s felt like my role for the last six years, I feel like I’ve had to,” said Alana.
Kain Parsons’ mother Cheryl Gascoigne told the Herald the coronial inquest had “pulled my son’s integrity apart”.
She felt the finger of blame was often pointed at her son throughout the process.
“Many people that were part of that event insinuated that Kain was responsible for his death,” said Gascoigne.
“I sat through a week of listening to all parties that were involved in Kain’s death and at no time did any one of those parties reflect and take responsibility for the part that they played in my son’s death.”
The coroner found that the referee for the fight could have done more.
“In terms of adverse comments, I have made a finding that [the referee] could have taken further, more focused available steps to assess Mr Parsons’ ability to continue the match after the third standing eight count. I cannot make a finding of whether a further, more focused assessment would have resulted in an outcome that [the referee] should have called off the match.
“The above finding equates to there being available to [the referee] the opportunity to further assess Mr Parsons. It is not a finding that he should have called off the match. It is also not a finding that he was correct to allow it to continue. I am unable to make a finding on the evidence before me about whether the match should have been called off,” said the coroner.
The coroner’s findings recommend the proposed repeal of the Boxing and Wrestling Act 1981 and the Boxing and Wrestling Regulations 1958 and that the Department of Internal Affairs reviews the legislative framework and regulations.
It suggests the review should include the “specific context” of corporate boxing “to help achieve consistency and a single national standard”.
“Such review might include whether there is a need for a single central body to manage corporate boxing. The specific context of corporate boxing includes relatively novice fighters participating in a specialised sport generally known to carry inherent risks and as such subject to a legislative regime,” said the coroner.
In a statement, Minister for Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden said the act is outdated.
“Any death from combat sports is an avoidable tragedy that nobody wants to see happen in New Zealand. My thoughts are with Mr Parsons’ family and friends during this difficult time.
“The Boxing and Wrestling Act 1981 is proposed to be repealed because it is outdated and only applies to boxing and wrestling associations; it does not cover other popular forms of combat sport, such as mixed-martial arts or variations of combat sport that carry greater risk.
“It is preferable to have one clear and modern legislative framework for all combat sports. Sport NZ are the lead co-ordinating agency considering current issues with combat sports, including a potential government response, and DIA are supporting them with this along with other relevant agencies.
“The repeal of the Boxing and Wrestling Act is proposed to be done through the Regulatory Systems (Internal Affairs) Amendment Bill which will proceed to select committee later this year. The public will be able to have their say during this process.”
The Government’s involvement is welcomed by Parsons’ family – though Gascoigne is extremely cautious with her optimism.
“That will take many, many months if not years to come to fruition. And it will only come to fruition if all parties are prepared to tackle it with care, with duty of care in mind. And after what I saw in that court, I have no confidence that that will happen,” she said.
The coroner acknowledged the length of time between Parsons’ death and the beginning of her inquest.
“Mr Parsons died in early November 2018 and the inquest took place approximately six years later. I became the coroner responsible for the inquiry into Mr Parsons’ death in June 2021. As the inquiry has progressed, there have been various reasons for delay, largely relating to engaging expert witnesses and securing a courtroom for the inquest hearing. The time it has taken to reach the inquest is very regrettable,” she noted.
The delay has made the grieving process difficult for Parsons’ family.
“The delays and delays and delays don’t allow the normal healing processes to occur because you’re always waiting for something to happen,” says Pete Benny.
“A year or so ago, we kind of were in quite a good spot. We were sort of trying to move forward. This brings it all back again,” Alana added.
His mother Gascoigne said it also impacted the inquest itself, saying that the coroner referred “many times to the fact that it had been a very long time”.
“We did finally get an outcome, but then it was all around the length of time and the evidence that was available and ‘I can’t rule on that evidence because it’s taken too long’ and ‘that evidence is no longer available to me’ or whatever the case may be. I believe that we would have had a much firmer outcome had it been addressed earlier,” she said.
Gascoigne believes the inquest was only heard last year because of steps the family themselves took to push it along.
“I know I’m highly emotive, but I feel that the justice system in the length of time it took to get here, and the only reason it did was because we as a family hired counsel to get them to bring it to the forefront,” said Gascoigne.
“It’s been such a drawn-out process really, so it’s tiring and it’s still going, but I suppose in some ways there, there are things that will hopefully change how, you know, these fights are run,” says Alana Parsons.