In today’s sports world, concussions have become a huge concern and talking point, most notably in the multi-billion dollar industry that is the NFL, where questions about the safety of the game have led to fears of allowing children to play.
Yet, the biggest and most damning news regarding concussions in sport, revealed at the end of March, suggested that another, less popular sport — the National Hockey League — may have bigger issues on its hands because of a seemingly complete disregard for the safety of its players by its top officials, including the commissioner.
In an ongoing class-action concussion lawsuit filed by former players, the NHL was recently forced to unseal troubling emails between its top officials, acknowledging fighting and hits to the head could lead to concussions, all while making light of the seriousness of issue, which seemingly contradicts what the league has said publically.
The deaths of at least three former NHL players — Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak — have been connected to concussions and the significant damage their bodies and brains took playing the game of hockey. Boogaard died of an accidental overdose of painkillers and alcohol, while Rypien and Belak committed suicide — all three players suffered daily from concussion side effects leading up to their deaths.
When emailed an article titled “Getting Rid of Hockey’s Goons” that suggested if the NHL eliminated the enforcer role and fighting, all three of those players would still be alive today, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman ignorantly responded with denial.
“An interesting question is whether being an NHL fighter does this to you (I don’t believe so) or whether a certain type of person (who wouldn’t otherwise be skilled enough to be an NHL player) gravitates to this job (I believe more likely),” Bettman said in a response email.
Instead of taking any small bit of accountability, Bettman essentially suggests the players had it coming, and knew the risks of being an enforcer, thus eliminating any type of responsibility the league has to protect its players. Additionally, he goes on to make any excuse he can for the league, and comes up with some really farfetched theories.
“I believe the fighting and possible concussions could aggravate a condition,” Bettman said later in the email conversation. “But if you think about the tragedies there were probably certain predispositions.”
Even more concerning is how Bettman, and other NHL officials, don’t take the issue seriously and have no problem making jokes about the wellbeing of players. This is evidenced by a 2011 email exchange Bettman had with Brendan Shanahan, senior vice president of Player Safety, and one of the few officials who acknowledges a connection between concussions and hockey and believes the NHL has a duty to protect its players.
“Any more concussions,” Bettman said.
“Not so far,” Shanahan responded.
“Night is young!” Bettman concluded.
It blows my mind that the commissioner, the face of the NHL, is joking, at least privately, about concussions. The same concussions that have been proven by researchers to have played a role in the death at least three players, under his watch, in the game that he regulates and has the utmost power to change things — but ultimately, his denial is holding him back from making the game safer.
Make no mistake about it, the contents of those emails are disturbing, and if the NHL was nearly as popular as the NFL, fans and media would be calling for those top league officials involved to immediately step down or be removed from their positions.
I certainly understand wanting to protect the image of the league, but the best way to do that is to accept the facts, move forward to change things and help out the players that make the league billions of dollars in revenue each year.
Instead, these emails help to create an image the NHL desperately wants to avoid — a group of money-driven men, pushing beaten and battered players out onto the ice without any legitimate concern of the players’ welfare.
