Yes. I think the writer is essentially complaining about players being sent off for doing dangerous things because it messes up the game, and anyway, they do stuff that's nearly as dangerous all the time.
Fundamentally, rugby and American football (and presumably Gaelic and Aussie rules) all carry increased brain injury risk, and the sporting bodies need to own that risk somehow. They are both modifying the game slightly to reduce the chances of concussion and try to mitigate the risk, but they are both trapped by the way that the game involves sub-concussive head impact on a regular basis and puts the participants at risk of concussion every single play.
I played rugbi in school and American football as a student and young man. I'm not sure I could recommend that to anyone, and I don't know if I would do the same if I were 18 again today.
Clearly the risk is much greater in the combat sports - I don't know if they just accept the risk and then ignore it?