Gary Bettman continues to offer idiotic stance on CTE

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman often comes off as clueless, but his stance on concussions and CTE stands out as particularly ridiculous.

The tie between concussions and the brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, otherwise known as CTE, has been a hot-button issue in the NFL. Concerns about the connection have moved to hockey, since it is also a physical sport where head injuries are common.

But in a 24-page response to written questions from United States Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), obtained by the New York Times, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has denied the long-term effects of repeated head trauma.

Bettman’s response was filed in United States District Court in Minneapolis on Tuesday, as part of a class-action lawsuit from dozens of former players citing the league did not warn them of the long-term effects of head injuries. That is a refrain former NFL players have also taken, that their league didn’t protect them from head injuries, which invites questions about assumption of risk when playing a heavily physical sport.

Bettman repeatedly blamed the media for fanning fear of the long-term effects of head injuries, while also defending the NHL’s “more measured” approach to the science of concussions.

Here’s a short sampling of what Bettman wrote:

"“The science regarding C.T.E., including on the asserted ‘link’ to concussions that you reference, remains nascent, particularly with respect to what causes C.T.E. and whether it can be diagnosed by specific clinical symptoms,”"

"“The relationship between concussions and the asserted clinical symptoms of C.T.E. remains unknown.”"

Senator Blumenthal specifically mentioned former NHL enforcer Derek Boogaard in his questions to Bettman, and the cases of former enforcers Bob Probert and Wade Belak are also notable for their early death possibly related to symptoms of CTE.

This part of what Senator Blumenthal wrote to Bettman is particularly pointed, and spot on:

"“As the premier professional hockey league in the world, the N.H.L. has an obligation not only to ensure the safety of your players, but to also engage in a productive dialogue about the safety of your sport at all levels,”"

Bettman of course denied the correlation between frequently dropping the gloves and head injuries, stating in his response that relatively few concussions result directly from fighting. The case of former NHL player Todd Ewen, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 2015 at the age of 49, was cited at the end of Bettman’s letter. Ewen’s post-mortem brain was not found to have signs of CTE, which Bettman sees as proof of public opinion getting “unreasonably” ahead of science.

While we are in the relatively early stages of our knowledge about the long-term effects of head injuries for athletes, to categorically deny any connection between concussions and CTE is flat-out naive.

To further call the relationship between concussions and CTE “unknown” is even broader stupidity, and Bettman’s apparent lack of concern for the health of players is another sign he is not fit to be commissioner of the NHL.

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