Bobby Hull had Stage 2 CTE when he died

[LuckyDay]

Bobby Hull had Stage 2 CTE when he died​

Hockey great Hull had CTE, researchers confirm

Bobby Hull, the Hall of Fame forward and two-time NHL MVP who helped the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in 1961, had CTE when he died two years ago, researchers at Boston University's CTE Center found.

www.espn.com

CHICAGO -- Bobby Hull, the Hall of Fame forward and two-time NHL MVP who helped the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in 1961, had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) when he died two years ago, his widow said in a statement released Wednesday.

Researchers at Boston University's CTE Center found that Hull had Stage 2 CTE when he died in 2023. He was 84.

Hull struggled with short-term memory loss and impaired judgment over his final decade. He chose to donate his brain after seeing former teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Stan Mikita, who died in 2018, decline late in his life.
...

original source

Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull diagnosed with CTE - Concussion Legacy Foundation

Researchers at the Boston University CTE Center diagnosed Hull with stage 2 (of 4) chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

concussionfoundation.org

Click to read more...

 

[hamzarocks]

Rip I didnt even know Bobby Hull had passed

Completetly either missed this news or forgot it had happened

 

[tarheelhockey]

CTE stages as a point of reference.

Going through the Stages of CTE | The CTE Society

One of the challenging aspects of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is that its onset can happen years after injury. It is not as simple as hitting your head yesterday and getting CTE today. It comes on its own time or may not come at all. So when it presents itself, its symptoms can be...

www.ctesociety.org

They all sound awful, but stage 4 sounds like a living hell.

 

[dirtydanglez]

sad to hear but another important step towards proving hockey can cause cte.

 

[Mr Kot]

For anyone interested, you can google normal brains vs CTE brains. The difference is pretty staggering.

 

[jetsforever]

Definitely one of the worst parts of contact sports

 

[ColinM]

Interesting that he had this and lived until his 80s. I realize there are stages of CTE but the ones we hear about the most died before 50. I guess we should be happy there is another data point here.

 

[coolboarder]

The difference is glaring, the NHL is the only professional sport that doesn't protect their own star player due to ignorance of how CTE and concussion works and rewarded the goons and thugs since day 1 in late 1800's and the suspension is so weak that the players will do anything to win in cost of after life of hockey. The only way to stop cheap shots to the head is a lengthy suspension. The superstar is the NHL marketing and they do not do much to protect them. I'd like to see the length of suspension to clamp down the cheap shots that I see every year and the punishment doesn't do the justice. When it comes to playoffs hockey, the hockey doesn't even have the guts to lay down the law to kick them out of a series unless it's defenseless action. CTE is the result of hockey disrespecting their own players in glorifying the bullying of their own star players to the point where they have to stand up for themselves which is not good back then.

 

[hockeyFan029]

CTE is about the brain bouncing around in the skull, not just about concussions. Look at the g-forces involved with every hit. This means the game of hockey will certainly give every player who plays the game long enough CTE.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

The difference is glaring, the NHL is the only professional sport that doesn't protect their own star player due to ignorance of how CTE and concussion works and rewarded the goons and thugs since day 1 in late 1800's and the suspension is so weak that the players will do anything to win in cost of after life of hockey. The only way to stop cheap shots to the head is a lengthy suspension. The superstar is the NHL marketing and they do not do much to protect them. I'd like to see the length of suspension to clamp down the cheap shots that I see every year and the punishment doesn't do the justice. When it comes to playoffs hockey, the hockey doesn't even have the guts to lay down the law to kick them out of a series unless it's defenseless action. CTE is the result of hockey disrespecting their own players in glorifying the bullying of their own star players to the point where they have to stand up for themselves which is not good back then.

Concussion protocol didn't even require a doctor to look at them until 2011 when Crosby got concussed.

N.H.L.’s New Concussion Protocol Requires a Physician’s Review Off the Ice (Published 2011)

As it released a report of concussion statistics, the N.H.L. announced a new protocol for dealing with head injuries.

www.nytimes.com

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

Back in my day we called it “being a man.” You have a bad brain, you shout at people and get violent, inside you’re completely lost, it’s fine and cool.

/s

 

[Crow]

I guess, on some level, ordinary life is that miserable in a way that some of us have to bash our brains in our heads out of boredom.

 

[Siludin]

I guess, on some level, ordinary life is that miserable in a way that some of us have to bash our brains in our heads out of boredom.

I get my brain damage the traditional way - drugs.
I guess at least with hockey you get some exercise.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Rip I didnt even know Bobby Hull had passed

Completetly either missed this news or forgot it had happened

me too

 

[TheGreenTBer]

Back in my day we called it “being a man.” You have a bad brain, you shout at people and get violent, inside you’re completely lost, it’s fine and cool.

/s

Off topic but Bad Brains was a f***ing great band. Just saying.

 

[cowboy82nd]

The difference is glaring, the NHL is the only professional sport that doesn't protect their own star player due to ignorance of how CTE and concussion works and rewarded the goons and thugs since day 1 in late 1800's and the suspension is so weak that the players will do anything to win in cost of after life of hockey. The only way to stop cheap shots to the head is a lengthy suspension. The superstar is the NHL marketing and they do not do much to protect them. I'd like to see the length of suspension to clamp down the cheap shots that I see every year and the punishment doesn't do the justice. When it comes to playoffs hockey, the hockey doesn't even have the guts to lay down the law to kick them out of a series unless it's defenseless action. CTE is the result of hockey disrespecting their own players in glorifying the bullying of their own star players to the point where they have to stand up for themselves which is not good back then.

Should they protect only the star players or every player????

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

The difference is glaring, the NHL is the only professional sport that doesn't protect their own star player due to ignorance of how CTE and concussion works and rewarded the goons and thugs since day 1 in late 1800's and the suspension is so weak that the players will do anything to win in cost of after life of hockey. The only way to stop cheap shots to the head is a lengthy suspension. The superstar is the NHL marketing and they do not do much to protect them. I'd like to see the length of suspension to clamp down the cheap shots that I see every year and the punishment doesn't do the justice. When it comes to playoffs hockey, the hockey doesn't even have the guts to lay down the law to kick them out of a series unless it's defenseless action. CTE is the result of hockey disrespecting their own players in glorifying the bullying of their own star players to the point where they have to stand up for themselves which is not good back then.

The NHL and fans choose the lazy path and crucify fighting when almost certainly the majority of CTE impact is the repetitive body contact and the legitimate, forceful hits to the head.

Cooke on Savard did far more damage than the majority of individiual staged fights I have to imagine.

Hell, we saw the fiasco the NHL managed with Bennett on Marchand in the playoffs. The excuse of not having the video angle was absolute embarrassment for the NHL.

Yet headshots are fortunate to receive 1-3 game suspensions.

 

[spintheblackcircle]

He also abused alcohol, which causes and/or contributes to CTE.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The NHL and fans choose the lazy path and crucify fighting when almost certainly the majority of CTE impact is the repetitive body contact and the legitimate, forceful hits to the head.

Cooke on Savard did far more damage than the majority of individiual staged fights I have to imagine.

Hell, we saw the fiasco the NHL managed with Bennett on Marchand in the playoffs. The excuse of not having the video angle was absolute embarrassment for the NHL.

Yet headshots are fortunate to receive 1-3 game suspensions.

In my observation, the same group of fans who became uncomfortable with the excessive amount of fighting were also the ones who pushed back against headshots.

The NHL itself is driven entirely by profit, not concern for the players. They’d gladly let players fight and headshot each other into oblivion if it gets clicks and ratings. This is the same league that watched Gretzky, Lemieux, Lindros and Crosby get their careers curtailed by injury before they decided to take action. If not for the threat of lawsuits, they’d still be sitting on their hands about fighting. They just simply don’t care to make a change until compelled.

The other scummy element is the NHLPA, which completely passed the buck on all of this.

 

[LPHabsFan]

Fun fact. It's the players, both in and outside the NHL, that are more of a hindrance to properly dealing with head trauma and supplemental discipline than the leagues.

 

[ShootIt]

It's the just the life of contact sports, or activities that subject your brain to extreme forces.
I definitely don't mind the NHL getting tougher on head shots, especially blindside hits, but it's a sport currently that still has a lot of collisions with guys skating ~20mph and at ~200lb per skater.


A bit OT.

I was at a monster jam show in Tampa, and there was this pre- recorded Q&A on the screen with the drivers, and the question was would you want to lose your short term or long term memory or something to the effect. Admittedly I wasn't paying full attention till I was hearing some of the answers.

A lot of the drivers mentioned that their short term memory is already fading, jokingly or in a light manner, but I think there's some truth in there. Even though not a "contact" sport like hockey or football, they have violent landings, and even with all the safety harnesses these days there's still extreme forces launching a 12k lb truck 40 feet into the air and landing on flat ground. Your brain will still bounce around even with HANS devices keeping you safe.

 

[the valiant effort]

#SportsAreBetterWhenWeIgnoreCTE

 

[Curufinwe]

Interesting that he had this and lived until his 80s. I realize there are stages of CTE but the ones we hear about the most died before 50. I guess we should be happy there is another data point here.

The one I always think of is Junior Seau who only got to 43 before killing himself.

 

[WeaponOfChoice]

CTE stages as a point of reference.

Going through the Stages of CTE | The CTE Society

One of the challenging aspects of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is that its onset can happen years after injury. It is not as simple as hitting your head yesterday and getting CTE today. It comes on its own time or may not come at all. So when it presents itself, its symptoms can be...

www.ctesociety.org

They all sound awful, but stage 4 sounds like a living hell.

Stage 4 sounds like my Dr's report but it's for an entirely different reason

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Sucks, but he was still a colossal shitbag.