The official who ran the AFL’s COVID-19 testing and protocols this year has been poached by America’s NBA to do a similar role in one of the globe’s biggest competitions.
Patrick Clifton, who co-authored the AFL’s protocols and the testing regime for COVID-19, will become the NBA’s vice-president of player health in the new year and will play a key role in seeking to ensure that NBA players – some of the highest paid athletes in the world – are protected from the coronavirus as the pandemic rages in the United States.
Clifton, the AFL’s head of safety and laws, was responsible for the AFL’s successful COVID protocols and testing, having devised the rules – which saw a number of players fined and suspended for breaches in and outside of club hubs – along with Simon Clarke, the AFL’s head of risk and compliance.
Clifton, who has a legal background, was viewed as a future senior figure in the AFL, also managed the AFL’s concussion protocols, the tribunal and the still contentious score review system.
