Head shots and the NHL - Will They Take Heed from the Bob Probert Experience?
It has been a while since my last blog, quite a while in fact. Over the past year I have followed the media coverage of the "head shot" issue in hockey. It is appalling to hear supposedly intelligent people taking untenable positions. Brian Burke, GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, for example, said that one of his players (Grabovski)was not "concussed" when he was knocked silly. The video is available for anyone to view. As brutal as the first hit was, it was the second hit that left Grabovski a little dazed.
Clearly Grabovski was unable to stand, he was dizzy and fell back to the ice after he did get up the first time, he then got up again and staggered to the bench. It defies logic for Burke to say there were no symptoms of concussion (which he reportedly said in an email).
I remember at the time wondering why Burke and his coach, Ron Wilson, would risk the future of one of their players by allowing Grabovski back out onto the ice. This week I was reminded of that when the results of post mortem brain studies of Bob Probert were publicized. Bob Probert was, in his prime, the most feared fighter in the NHL. He died at the age of 45. The post mortem analysis of his brain showed that Probert suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease. Research shows that CTE is caused by repetetive concussion or mild traumatic brain injury.
Concussions in contact sport are going to happen. I would certainly not suggest all contact sports be banned simply because there are some risks involved. What I find so disturbing about hockey, a game I have loved all my life and still play recreationally, is that the NHL brass continues to endorse, and, some would say, active encourage fighting in hockey. Apparently they put profit ahead of the lives of hockey players. They don't seem to care that for every enforcer in the NHL there are likely hundreds of teenagers playing hockey that see fighting as their ticket to the big times.
You would think that with the scientific research into CTE Gary Bettman and his underlings would actually take brain injury in hockey seriously. While they talk a good game, their actions would suggest that they don't care in the slightest. They continue to defend fighting in hockey - the entire goal of which is to strike the other player in the head in an effort to hurt that player. In otherwords, the entire goal in a hockey fight is to cause repeated blows to the brain. Similarly, when players repeatedly deliberately go after opponenets heads, the NHL powers that be refuse to do anything but slap the offenders on the wrist.
Why do I say that? Just look at the suspension of Gillies this week. Gillies plays for the New York Islanders. Earlier this year Gillies delivered a viscious head shot to a Pittsburgh player, Eric Tangradi.
While Tangradi was clearly dazed from the hit, Gillies then decided he would punch Tangradi in the head a number of times. He then chose to taunt Tangradi while Tangradi was clearly suffering from a mild closed head injury. Obviously Gillies had no remorse for his actions at that time. For that the NHL suspended Gillies for 9 games.
In his first game back from that suspension, Gillies again intentionally drives an oppoinent head first into the boards. He intentionally tries to injure a Minnesota player be hitting him from behing (supposedly against the rules) and driving his head into the glass.
So what was the NHL's reaction? Given that 9 games had done absolutely nothing to deter Gillies from trying to end another player's career, apparently the NHL thinks 10 games suspension will do the trick.
The discipline of Gillies by the NHL is a joke. What isn't funny is that it appears it will take an on ice death to get the NHL's attention.
The NFL has already recognized the seriousness of of this issue. Check out our blog Brain Injuries - Can the NFL Help Change Insurance Companies Approach to Damages?
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