BJSM Statement on Plagiarism

Published 6th April 2022 BMJ recently retracted 'The time lords – measurement and performance in sprinting', authored by former BJSM Editor-in-Chief Dr. Paul McCrory, due to what was established by BMJ's Research Integrity team as unlawful and indefensible breach of copyright. We are aware of additional allegations of plagiarism against Dr. McCrory that have since been brought forward. BMJ and BJSM take these allegations very seriously. The BMJ Research Integrity team is currently examining these allegations and will act accordingly when the investigation is complete. Dr. McCrory was Editor-in-Chief of BJSM from 2001 to 2008. His publication record with BJSM is publicly available, with hundreds of articles published in BJSM and other journals. The BMJ Research Integrity team is investigating all allegations as well as a sample of other papers in which he is the first or senior author. We understand that Dr. McCrory has resigned from his leadership position in the Concussion in Sport Group (CISG) as well as his role as part of the Scientific Committee of the International Consensus Conference on Concussion in Sport. BJSM has published five iterations of the consensus statement from these consensus conferences (Vienna 2001, Prague 2004, Zurich 2008, Zurich 2012, Berlin 2016). Dr. McCrory is first author on the latter four statements. These will also be reviewed by the BMJ Research Integrity team. Whether Dr. McCrory’s actions affected the content of prior statements is the purview of the Scientific Committee appointed by CISG. Plagiarism is a serious allegation, and BMJ and BJSM are fully committed to ensure best practice in publication ethics. Currently, all submitted manuscripts are examined using plagiarism detection software – iThenticate. Any papers flagged undergo additional review by the Editor-in-Chief and BMJ Research Integrity team. For additional queries on this matter, please contact BMJ at: publication.ethics@bmj.com

Jonathan Drezner, MD Editor-in-Chief, BJSM

Kamran Abbasi, MD Editor-in-Chief, BMJ

Helen Macdonald, MD Research Integrity Editor