News Article: Court unseals concussion docs/e-mails

[Gee Wally]

Interesting read and unseen until now e-mail correspondence throughout the League and HQ. (especially Bettman's)



NHL doctor slams ‘situational ethics’ on concussions in unsealed lawsuit documents
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl-doctor-slams-...ssions-in-unsealed-lawsuit-documents-1.708729



The NHL has fought in court for months to prevent the emails from Dr. Meeuwisse and the NHL team doctor from being made public, but the league lost that battle on Tuesday when a U.S. federal court judge unsealed more than two dozen court exhibits that included that email string.

In a judgment released Tuesday, Judge Susan Richard Nelson wrote that while the NHL objected to the unsealing of the emails about Havlat, “citing a chilling effect on deliberations regarding medical issues,” the league failed “to present compelling reasons to overcome the presumption of public access to [the emails about Havlat’s injury and return to play.]”

Lawyers for a group of former players suing the NHL in a high-stakes concussion lawsuit say the doctor’s candid comments are evidence that even some physicians within the NHL’s own medical community feel conflicted about the pressure that players and their doctors face about returning to action after head injuries.

The documents unsealed Tuesday are the latest set of emails and records that have been opened to public scrutiny since the NHL concussion litigation began during the autumn of 2013

Click to read more...

 

[Dr Hook]

Just like the NFL, the league is not coming off looking very good when stuff like this gets revealed. Bettman in particular seems like the major tool. I just can't understand the position of the NHL here- some proactive steps to reduce head injuries could have been taken years ago and adding just a bit of interest in helping fund some studies they could have forestalled all of this nonsense.

Now it just looks like they wanted to sweep it all under the rug for fear of 'damaging' the on-ice product. It's going to get a lot more damaged if the litigation goes the way it appears to be going

 

[Kovi]

I was originally glad to see some of the protocols introduced for concussions, but they seem like window dressing now.

These are really scary statements. If your leader cannot be transparent and you are manipulating the truth, then you've lost my respect.

“It wouldn’t be nice but maybe he should understand it’s not nice to bite the hand that feeds you,†Bettman wrote. “Please have someone check to see if there are any grounds to withhold. Don’t want to hurt him – maybe just get his attention. This campaign, his book – somewhat delusional.â€

“If media asks about this, deflect the question. Tell them we are having a great season and we will continue to look into issues that come up in the future.â€

As a true leader, your #1 concern needs to be the health and support of your employees.

I work in PR/promotions and I understand the need to twist the atmosphere, but you can never do it at the expense of human beings.

More guys will be hurt or worse because of it.

 

[LouJersey]

Pretty much confirms my belief that Gary Bettman is the Anti-Christ.

 

[ODAAT]

Concussion Gate

 

[Fenian24]

As someone who is extremely pro fighting and physical hockey I am worried about what the game will look like in a few years, I barely watch teams other than the Bruins now because the product has become so watered down and wussified.

I have had a number of concussions between hockey and boxing, I understood the risks at the time. Being somewhat intelligent I always knew getting punched in the head would not be good for long term cognitive health. I did it because I enjoyed it and was willing to make that trade off. No one is forced to fight today, the players are so protected by rules and referees that a player who has no desire to drop his gloves no longer has to worry about it. Whether for good or bad the need to stand up for yourself is gone as is the stigma of not fighting when challenged.

The one thing that is made abundantly clear and that all fans on either side of the fighting debate or the wussification of the game debate should be able to agree on is that Bettman is as much a weasel and general a****le as always suspected.

The players today should fully understand the risks associated with the game, unless body checking is completely eliminated and the boards are ringed with foam there is still a chance of getting a head injury, even then you could get hit in the head with a slapshot that would cause considerable head trauma.

This is a dangerous slope, it will be interesting to see what happens in a year or two with the lawsuit and if the game remains watchable or becomes even more of a version of soccer on ice.

 

[hoss75]

The players today should fully understand the risks associated with the game, unless body checking is completely eliminated and the boards are ringed with foam there is still a chance of getting a head injury, even then you could get hit in the head with a slapshot that would cause considerable head trauma.

This is a dangerous slope, it will be interesting to see what happens in a year or two with the lawsuit and if the game remains watchable or becomes even more of a version of soccer on ice.

This is a great post as it emphasizes that hockey is simply a dangerous game with or without fighting. A gloveless punch isn't great but it's pretty low on the scale of concussion risks in hockey. Open field/ice hits are the biggest dangers... but I definitely couldn't watch hockey without hitting.

 

[Aeroforce]

Bettman has won a lot of battles for the owners (mainly the hard cap). He's famously stubborn (Coyotes).

But he ain't winning this one (thankfully). And it won't be cheap.

I don't like the direction the league is heading, and it goes beyond the fighting or lack thereof.

I think some of the decisions the league is making today will be regretted years from now; only Bettman and most of the owners won't be around to have to fix it.

 

[Dr Hook]

The players today should fully understand the risks associated with the game, unless body checking is completely eliminated and the boards are ringed with foam there is still a chance of getting a head injury, even then you could get hit in the head with a slapshot that would cause considerable head trauma.

This is a dangerous slope, it will be interesting to see what happens in a year or two with the lawsuit and if the game remains watchable or becomes even more of a version of soccer on ice.

We can agree that Bettman is an ass . The bold is one of the important bits here and I would add to that that the league (any league) has a responsibility to its players to protect them from themselves to an extent. Yes, NHL players are mostly adults (all are legally) and they decide to take the risks, but we wouldn't even be having this discussion if the league had taken responsibility for their players years ago instead of suppressing information and encouraging and even expecting players to go out and play with head injuries.

I say this next bit with all respect, but as a university professor, coach, and the parent of an NCAA athlete, I have been around plenty of players at high level. A great many of them are not rocket scientists, and many of the ones who are intelligent enough still don't really apply that aspect of themselves to much of anything. Expecting them to read about concussion, to inform themselves, and to make sound decisions about their own ability to play is probably expecting too much. Add to that the high competitive level they operate at and you have people who are often not the best judges of their own safety. I don't at all mean this in an insulting way; it is what it is, and because of that, leagues, refs, coaches, administrators etc. need to act in the interests of people who are unwilling or unable to act responsibly for themselves. If you ran a construction company, you wouldn't put a guy with a concussion out on the high iron or scaffolding, or have him operate heavy equipment, and sport should be the same way.

Fighting doesn't have to go and neither does hitting, but both aspects of the game are at risk because the NHL didn't step up when it could have made a real difference to do so. They can still do it, but then you read crap like Bettman said about Kerry Fraser and you wonder if they will.

 

[Habs killer]

I thought the PBS front line piece about the state of the NFL and concussions was well done. In the end you just had people on the payroll trying to protect the business of the NFL regardless of what factual information was being provided. The dr. I think at BU who found the strain similar to Alzheimer's on deceased players & the NFL dr who tried to have him barred from the new england journal of medicine was laughable. the facts will come out.

 

[BMC]

Let's face it, telling an 18 year old on the verge of achieving his childhood dream of playing in the NHL that playing in the NHL might leave him brain damaged is going to go in one ear and out of the other.

18 year olds are immortal. Nothing bad is ever going to happen them and they're never going to get old & have health issues. I know this because I used to be one

I think the NHL needs to improve helmet & board safety as much as possible to reduce the concussion problem [IMO eliminating the problem isn't possible short of banning the game itself] and provide serious help to those players who experience post concussion issues.

 

[Dr Hook]

Let's face it, telling an 18 year old on the verge of achieving his childhood dream of playing in the NHL that playing in the NHL might leave him brain damaged is going to go in one ear and out of the other.

18 year olds are immortal. Nothing bad is ever going to happen them and they're never going to get old & have health issues. I know this because I used to be one

I think the NHL needs to improve helmet & board safety as much as possible to reduce the concussion problem [IMO eliminating the problem isn't possible short of banning the game itself] and provide serious help to those players who experience post concussion issues.

Ahh the myth of immortality, been there too I agree helmet and board safety is paramount. There will always be a risk, but you can do some things to mitigate that without changing the essential nature of the game.

One thing I would like to see is a much more serious crackdown on reckless and dirty players. The league really needs a zero tolerance policy on those who run players and other dirty stuff like deliberate hits on the numbers into the boards, intentional head shots in the course of play etc. As it is, fining a multi-millionaire $50,000 is silly. Suspensions without pay should be given once for a lengthy period, followed by banning from the league for offenders The guy who concussed Spooner with that cheap shot ought to still be sitting at home.

There is enough video on games and observation to know whether something is intentional, and even if it isn't, if a player can't control himself on the ice enough to stop putting his colleagues at risk, he ought not be playing.

 

[BMC]

Ahh the myth of immortality, been there too I agree helmet and board safety is paramount. There will always be a risk, but you can do some things to mitigate that without changing the essential nature of the game.

One thing I would like to see is a much more serious crackdown on reckless and dirty players. The league really needs a zero tolerance policy on those who run players and other dirty stuff like deliberate hits on the numbers into the boards, intentional head shots in the course of play etc. As it is, fining a multi-millionaire $50,000 is silly. Suspensions without pay should be given once for a lengthy period, followed by banning from the league for offenders The guy who concussed Spooner with that cheap shot ought to still be sitting at home.

There is enough video on games and observation to know whether something is intentional, and even if it isn't, if a player can't control himself on the ice enough to stop putting his colleagues at risk, he ought not be playing.

I agree but that means upgrading the quality of the on ice officials.

As for the boards I'd like to see the NHL use a variation of the SAFER barriers NASCAR uses on its racetracks:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...MeaBYCuSvgRCYoD5RX5M2w&bvm=bv.151325232,d.eWE

 

[missingchicklet]

Let's face it, telling an 18 year old on the verge of achieving his childhood dream of playing in the NHL that playing in the NHL might leave him brain damaged is going to go in one ear and out of the other.

18 year olds are immortal. Nothing bad is ever going to happen them and they're never going to get old & have health issues. I know this because I used to be one

I think the NHL needs to improve helmet & board safety as much as possible to reduce the concussion problem [IMO eliminating the problem isn't possible short of banning the game itself] and provide serious help to those players who experience post concussion issues.

I agree. Knowing the risks for a young man making a ton of money and reaching his dream is not in reality actually knowing the risks. The NHL is going to be in a difficult situation due to the head injury issue at some point, I'm guessing sooner rather than later. It would be a lot better for the health of the game and the players to be transparent and proactive rather than sneaky and reactive. More consistent and more firm punishment for hits to the head and dangerous boarding would be a good start. The NHL cannot even get that right with existing rules in place, which is pathetic. Equipment improvements/changes might be able to help some, but ultimately it is going to be the way hits are made and their resulting punishments that will change the manner in which players play the game and improve player health. As for the article itself -- not surprising, and incredibly frustrating to see what has been happening. I hope the NHL gets its act together.

 

[bb74]

Unfortunately in the grand scheme of things the only people that will actually "make" anything out of this are the lawyers. Just look at what is happening at the NFL Concussion suit. 12.5% of the settlement going to laywers as a falt rate + between 25% and 40% based on representaive fees on a "client" to client basis. It's disgusting and a disgrace.

Nearly 1K an hour for legal representation from get rich quick scum on the back of people literally dying...

NHL will be the same unfortunately and that's literally going to add insult to injury... what a world we live in...!

 

[Thrive]

Unfortunately in the grand scheme of things the only people that will actually "make" anything out of this are the lawyers. Just look at what is happening at the NFL Concussion suit. 12.5% of the settlement going to laywers as a falt rate + between 25% and 40% based on representaive fees on a "client" to client basis. It's disgusting and a disgrace.

Nearly 1K an hour for legal representation from get rich quick scum on the back of people literally dying...

NHL will be the same unfortunately and that's literally going to add insult to injury... what a world we live in...!

Then the players should have selected different legal counsel if their current representatives are too expensive.

In law, you generally get what you pay for.

 

[ReggieMoto]

I think the NHL needs to improve helmet & board safety as much as possible to reduce the concussion problem [IMO eliminating the problem isn't possible short of banning the game itself] and provide serious help to those players who experience post concussion issues.

I think the penalties doled out for egregious behavior are not severe enough.

I've always liked the "you put the player out of commission, you will be out of commission with him" approach. I understand the counter-argument, though, that you then could have a much lesser player taking out a much better player like a Bergeron or a Crosby and the trade off not being worth it.

But what if the coach got caught up into the penalty as well? Or the owner? What if the team were to take a big hit to the cap, say $2M for a dangerous hit that caused a player to miss time on the ice; or if the coach had to take a 25% hit to his salary for the year? Would players or the teams still be inclined to run the risk of causing a career-ending hit?

As long as the league -- and by the league I mean the owners and their surrogates -- continue to allow this kind of play and tolerate the career endangering hits, the hits will continue to happen. Institute serious penalties and apply them consistently and fairly, then the incidence will go down if not be eliminated altogether. End the theater.

 

[Dr Hook]

I think the penalties doled out for egregious behavior are not severe enough.

I've always liked the "you put the player out of commission, you will be out of commission with him" approach. I understand the counter-argument, though, that you then could have a much lesser player taking out a much better player like a Bergeron or a Crosby and the trade off not being worth it.

But what if the coach got caught up into the penalty as well? Or the owner? What if the team were to take a big hit to the cap, say $2M for a dangerous hit that caused a player to miss time on the ice; or if the coach had to take a 25% hit to his salary for the year? Would players or the teams still be inclined to run the risk of causing a career-ending hit?

As long as the league -- and by the league I mean the owners and their surrogates -- continue to allow this kind of play and tolerate the career endangering hits, the hits will continue to happen. Institute serious penalties and apply them consistently and fairly, then the incidence will go down if not be eliminated altogether. End the theater.

We may not agree on Tuuka, but we definitely agree on this

This lies on the league and the ownership 100% and if they were serious about addressing the concussion issue before it really cripples the sport, then this has to be the approach.

And yes the on-ice officiating has to be improved, or more likely, they refs need the freedom or a mandate even to seriously police this stuff. Given what we've heard from Bettman and others, I wouldn't be at all surprised if there wasn't some sort of unwritten rule about handling dangerous hits.

 

[Fonzerelli]

Fighting doesn't have to go and neither does hitting, but both aspects of the game are at risk because the NHL didn't step up when it could have made a real difference to do so. They can still do it, but then you read crap like Bettman said about Kerry Fraser and you wonder if they will.

Unbelievable, what he said. Actually completely believable, and ridiculous at the same time. I like fighting in the game as much as the next guy, but I'd like to see them come down more extreme on deliberate hits to the head, deliberate elbows to the head (like Tkachuk's, even though I love his moxy), cross checks to the face or neck. That type of stuff is disrespectful to the game and unnecessarily dangerous to unsuspecting opponent.

And another thing I'd like to see is suspensions handed down to be served on a players home schedule. So if a guy like Crosby gets a suspension, Calgary fans for example, would still get to see him play if that game came up under his suspension and he would have to serve the entirity of his suspension during Penguin home games. Make the suspension hurt him and his home fans, but not the away fans. That would get away from that old double-standard excuse that people pay to see certain players so they get away with more. Punish his home fans, his season ticket holders and his owners pocket book, and let them take it out on him.

 

[ReggieMoto]

A Marc Antoine Godin tweet retweeted by Kirk. It's commentary from Shawn Thornton regarding the on-ice behavior of Alexei Emelin. He opens his statement mentioning the league's reluctance to handle it.

 

[ODAAT]

A Marc Antoine Godin tweet retweeted by Kirk. It's commentary from Shawn Thornton regarding the on-ice behavior of Alexei Emelin. He opens his statement mentioning the league's reluctance to handle it.

truer words never spoken about Emelin

 

[missingchicklet]

Emelin is a perfect example of what I was getting at in a previous post. The guy makes one borderline hit after another, then turtles when players come after him. There are rarely ever any consequences for that puke. The instigator rule prevents players from doing anything since Emelin is a cowardly puke and won't man up for his puke behavior. The league typically has some excuse about how his borderline hits are clean. The end result, however, is that he hits players in a way that hurts their head. If the league wants to get serious about head injuries then it needs to actually get serious and quit with its stupid wheel of justice and flat-out punish players who routinely make so-called borderline hits that hurt the heads of other players. Instead, it picks and chooses who to punish and acts as if fighting is somehow a big culprit for head injuries, when it clearly is not. I was really glad to see Thornton say what he did. I'm sure there are a whole lot of players who think the same thing but do not speak out.

 

[ReggieMoto]

If the league wants to get serious about head injuries then it needs to actually get serious and quit with its stupid wheel of justice and flat-out punish players who routinely make so-called borderline hits that hurt the heads of other players. Instead, it picks and chooses who to punish and acts as if fighting is somehow a big culprit for head injuries, when it clearly is not. I was really glad to see Thornton say what he did. I'm sure there are a whole lot of players who think the same thing but do not speak out.

Good points, especially the bolded. Enforce the rules that are already on the books and do it consistently. Maybe try that?