Here is a commissioner bought and paid for who cares not a wit about the welfare of NHL players.
3
Blaming the media for reporting facts is too common among the egotistical autocrats of the world.
Football and hockey will die a generational death. Young parents simply won't roll the dice with their kids' brains.
Football and hockey will die a generational death. Young parents simply won't roll the dice with their kids' brains.
1
Bettman is a martinette. He was a hard nosed lawyer with a Napoleon complex when he worked for the NBA and he is worse now because he's more powerful. Everything you need to know about hockey and how it should be played is available in international or Olympic hockey where fisticuffs are punished and the rinks are bigger. Bigger rinks? Well that might mean greedy NHL owners would lose some seats in their precious taxpayer funded building. I've been a sports fan for nearly 60 years but those days are coming to an end. I'd rather see a good film, live theatre, read a book or a do thousand other things than watch overpaid athletes play for overstuffed bloated owners and leagues.
3
Given that Bettman's grandson plays travel hockey, it would be interesting to see how Bettman reacts to his own grandson being sidelined from playing hockey due to a concussion in a game or practice. A player does NOT need to hit his head on the ice or boards during a game to get a concussion. Just having whiplash occur in an on ice collision or fall is enough to get a concussion. I know because it's happened to me playing hockey.
2
Why is Bettman still commissioner? He has diluted the talent pool with too many teams, changed the rules every year (what was wrong with a tie?), changes the conferences and divisions so often I can't keep up, tried to mimic the NBA in salaries so much that games are unaffordable, lengthened the playoff schedule so the regular season barley matters, and denies CTE is a problem? I can't watch the NHL anymore.
5
Human beings have a well-documented propensity to ignore facts when they interfere with our ability to earn a living.
6
This reminds me of the tobacco industry when they said that, yes, people who smoke get lung cancer, but there is no proof they would not have gotten lung cancer anyway even if they did not smoke.
Do you really need to be a neuro surgeon to know getting your head pounded repeatedly will damage your brain?
Do you really need to be a neuro surgeon to know getting your head pounded repeatedly will damage your brain?
2
Gary Bettman is a hard-nosed businessman who will toe the company line, all evidence to the contrary. It is as likely for him to affirm the link between concussions and CTE as it is for Donald Trump to endorse Hillary Clinton. Bettman will deny, deny, deny to his last breath. Sadly for us all, he is going to continue to be the NHL commissioner for a long time.
1
A sport that encourages its players to punch one another in the face and head as part of the action, while the crowd roars its approval.
Then the players mewl that they were not "told' that being repeatedly punched in the head could cause harm to their brains.
Of course, they want a payoff.
Nothing to see here.
Then the players mewl that they were not "told' that being repeatedly punched in the head could cause harm to their brains.
Of course, they want a payoff.
Nothing to see here.
1
This is so indicative of Bettman's overall approach to this great game. He wasn't hired to be a sportsman, he was hired to be a bottom line businessman. Long time fans have been continually dismayed by the cavalier attitude promoted over his reign towards head injuries and styles of play that have led to more of them. He has done more to commoditize the players under the excuse of the fact that they make more money than ever. It's a great, great game, not a TV bloodsport but what can we expect from one who never played and who never faced the consequences of his philosophy towards it.
2
Must be hard to run the NHL with your head in the sand.
Bettman continues to prove he's an idiot, over and over again. He must think the Earth is flat.
NHL, like NFL is a business. If the NCAA is also a business, why are their hockey rules more civilized when it comes to fighting in games? Some deniers can't even ask honest questions, forget providing honest answers.
Doesn't this disqualify him from being taken seriously? Should he be the commissioner of anything? Is it the media's fault that participation in gladiator sports like hockey leads to permanent brain damage? He should resign.
2
The evidence that CTE exists and is caused by head injury is overwhelming. The only reason to deny it this hard is because of $. The NHL, like the NFL, is terrified of several generations of lawsuits coming their way, and well they should be. But all the denial in the world won't stop this from landing at their doorstep. The longer Bettman and the league wait, the worse it's gonna get.
The lawsuits are inevitable. The payouts are inevitable. If it isn't the retired players of yesterday getting the money, it'll be today's concussed players getting it. Sidney Crosby's brain is a CTE landmine waiting to happen, and if that hits the fan in a couple of decades, the NHL's most popular player will become their Titanic. How they act now will determine whether the NHL survives that iceberg.
So here's what you do: you become the most enthusiastic CTE-prevention specialists the world has ever seen. By the 2017-2018 season, you end fighting and develop a zero tolerance policy towards dirty hits and players. No more repeated suspensions. Intent to injure=lifetime ban. And because there's gonna be incidental contact in any contact sport, you pour money into developing safer helmets and fund research into CTE prevention and treatment for players who've suffered concussions.
Then you apologize and ride out the storm. It's not a guarantee, but this is the best it's gonna get. Hockey players don't run from the ugly hits. They deserve a league that won't run either.
The lawsuits are inevitable. The payouts are inevitable. If it isn't the retired players of yesterday getting the money, it'll be today's concussed players getting it. Sidney Crosby's brain is a CTE landmine waiting to happen, and if that hits the fan in a couple of decades, the NHL's most popular player will become their Titanic. How they act now will determine whether the NHL survives that iceberg.
So here's what you do: you become the most enthusiastic CTE-prevention specialists the world has ever seen. By the 2017-2018 season, you end fighting and develop a zero tolerance policy towards dirty hits and players. No more repeated suspensions. Intent to injure=lifetime ban. And because there's gonna be incidental contact in any contact sport, you pour money into developing safer helmets and fund research into CTE prevention and treatment for players who've suffered concussions.
Then you apologize and ride out the storm. It's not a guarantee, but this is the best it's gonna get. Hockey players don't run from the ugly hits. They deserve a league that won't run either.
8
This is only the latest despicable, disgusting actions from the worst commissioner in sports, the worst in NHL history, possibly the worst in sports history. Bettman is truly a shameful individual; sadly and inexplicably, NHL owners are indifferent to this shame.
3
One thing about the C.T.E. diagnoses... Do the researchers have an honest picture of their subjects' past performance enhancing drug use? Is it harder hits and artificial turf beginning in the 70s, or is there something else possibly affecting the brain that we're only finding post-mortem?
1
The NHL is too rough for me to watch. They could have adopted better rules to minimize fighting and boarding, the main causes of concussions. However, Bettman and the NHL owners appear to believe that their core audience wants to see a rough game. Admitting that fighting and boarding cause CTE would make their product inhumane, so they will never admit anything of the sort.
2
Businesses ALWAYS deny findings that impact profits, and the standard playbook (based on the cigarette industry's response to adverse findings) is to delay, obfuscate, deny, and hire hack scientists that will dispute all evidence. We see at Exxon about global warming, we see it in the NFL on concussions, and we see it now in the NHL. The overriding and primary interest is to protect profits, not players. These people know no shame, have no honesty, and are (I hope) destined for a particularly awful circle of hell.
As Kwai-Chang Kane once said on an episode of the classic TV series, Kung Fu: "Honor dies.....where interest lies."
1
What a predictable corporate response that cares more about $$ than players, who are merely disposable tools to making money. Bettman must look for his medical opinions at his podiatrist and dentist because doctors who study the relationship between head hits and concussions and brain damage including CTE KNOW the correlation is completely positive. Bettman probably relies on "doctors" like the compromised rheumatologist, Elliot Pellman who led the NFL’s Mild Traumatic Brain Injury committee, which repeatedly denied the link between football, concussions and long-term brain damage. Bettman probably thinks a brain knows if the player is wearing skates or football shoes when it is thumped. What a pathetic commissioner, though not in owners' eyes if he can just stall the inevitable a while longer.
If all he has to offer is idiocy - it might be better to day nothing at all.
2
Todd Ewen was a favorite player of mine, and I knew his case would be talked about this way. It's tragic and despicable. There was no CTE found in his brain, the brain of someone who undeniably suffered head trauma, but Bettman is drawing the conclusion that would instead require the presence of CTE in an unharmed brain. This is a classic example of the fallacy of affirming the consequent.
It is also insane to draw the conclusion you want from one instance of "proof" of your point in the face of many other instances against your point. Using the Ewen case as proof of anything betrays either Bettman's ability to understand the scientific method or his true intentions.
It is also insane to draw the conclusion you want from one instance of "proof" of your point in the face of many other instances against your point. Using the Ewen case as proof of anything betrays either Bettman's ability to understand the scientific method or his true intentions.
2
Liar, lair, pants on fire.
1
I watched the movie "Concussion" last week. Obviously, Bettman never has.
7
1) There is certainly enough evidence to say that there is an association between preliminary CTE-consensus-defining histopathologic changes and sports that expose individuals to repeated blows to the head. These changes are distinct from those seen in other neurodegenerative diseases and can be identified by experts in neuropathology who have been blinded to clinical history.
2) The scientific evidence that would identify causality and a mechanistic link between repeated blows and CTE is virtually non-existent to date.
3) While control groups in the context of CTE studies are indeed still sorely lacking, the evidence to date does suggest that one does not see CTE-type changes in individuals without exposure to trauma. Neuropathologists have been looking at control brains in the context of studies of Alzheimer disease and other diseases for decades, and this pattern has not been recognized in individuals without a history of trauma.
4) Yes, there are overlapping symptoms between those who are found to have CTE-consensus-defining pathologic features post-mortem and those who have other neurodegenerative diseases or other disorders with as yet unspecified pathologic findings.
5) We have a long way to go to understand CTE and its causes, but the science overwhelmingly to date is highly suggestive that repeated trauma may turn out to be at least necessary if not sufficient for the development of CTE.
2) The scientific evidence that would identify causality and a mechanistic link between repeated blows and CTE is virtually non-existent to date.
3) While control groups in the context of CTE studies are indeed still sorely lacking, the evidence to date does suggest that one does not see CTE-type changes in individuals without exposure to trauma. Neuropathologists have been looking at control brains in the context of studies of Alzheimer disease and other diseases for decades, and this pattern has not been recognized in individuals without a history of trauma.
4) Yes, there are overlapping symptoms between those who are found to have CTE-consensus-defining pathologic features post-mortem and those who have other neurodegenerative diseases or other disorders with as yet unspecified pathologic findings.
5) We have a long way to go to understand CTE and its causes, but the science overwhelmingly to date is highly suggestive that repeated trauma may turn out to be at least necessary if not sufficient for the development of CTE.
10
Thank you. This is the sort of detailed explanation I'd like to see in the Times' Science or Health pages, at least in some form. What I'm getting at with my comment below is that while it quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, legally and scientifically it may still not officially be a duck, and Bettman's job is to protect his company from liability. It's very, very bad public relations and certainly no cheer to his labor force, who are the ones exposed to the danger, but in the sense of working to limit his board's (in this case, owners) potential for major economic payout, he's doing his job.
One would think that working to limit concussions in general is in the best interests of the game, for concussions limit player availability, both in the shorter and longer terms. A healthy workforce is a happy workforce, and people pay money to see certain players. Heck, Crosby missed almost a whole year with concussion problems. My thought is the league really does want to reduce what it can, but it doesn't want to expose itself to the sort of huge payout the wealthier NFL has been subjected to... The NHL's cheaper because it has to be, and (potentially) the players suffer.
I still think the condition is not well understood and cast too simply in the public, but I do agree an abundance of caution is in order.
One would think that working to limit concussions in general is in the best interests of the game, for concussions limit player availability, both in the shorter and longer terms. A healthy workforce is a happy workforce, and people pay money to see certain players. Heck, Crosby missed almost a whole year with concussion problems. My thought is the league really does want to reduce what it can, but it doesn't want to expose itself to the sort of huge payout the wealthier NFL has been subjected to... The NHL's cheaper because it has to be, and (potentially) the players suffer.
I still think the condition is not well understood and cast too simply in the public, but I do agree an abundance of caution is in order.
And smoking cigarettes does not cause cancer.
8
Having worked in the industry for over a decade, Bettman needs to go. He needed to go long before this time.
Are concussions a problem in hockey? YES. Do hockey helmets provide the least protection out of just about any sports helmet? YES. Does hockey, as it is currently played today, encourage behavior/maneuvers which put the head at risk of being hit? YES.
Back in the old days of hockey, before players wore all the pads and helmets, you didn't see the hits like you do today.
Are concussions a problem in hockey? YES. Do hockey helmets provide the least protection out of just about any sports helmet? YES. Does hockey, as it is currently played today, encourage behavior/maneuvers which put the head at risk of being hit? YES.
Back in the old days of hockey, before players wore all the pads and helmets, you didn't see the hits like you do today.
8
Bettaman obviously is taking his advice from the NFL's FORMER experts on CTE!
5
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."
--Upton Sinclair
--Upton Sinclair
45
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Sinclair said it more eloquently, but Bettman's wealth depends on there not being a connection to CTE. Delusion knows no bounds.
Sinclair said it more eloquently, but Bettman's wealth depends on there not being a connection to CTE. Delusion knows no bounds.
1
Surprise, surprise. Bettman is a science denier. Must be a climate change denier as well. He is doing everything he can to cause "ice"hockey to melt
9
Hockey is an awesome game, but I think Bettman has gotta go - he's killing the NHL. I grew up playing hockey, watching NHL games on cable and my kids have started to play too - I stopped watching the NHL once it moved off of basic cable (great move to limit the market Mr. Bettman). Anyway, I love the game for the skating, the puck handling, and the occasional well placed body contact that helps move the puck along. But, there is no other major sport that tolerates dropping the gloves and going at it bare fisted. It's ridiculous - this is not boxing. There should be a no tolerance policy for fighting in the game. It adds to concussions, hand injuries, other injuries, addiction to pain killers... and it not only stops a fast paced exciting game, but also gives the entire sport a bad name. Shame on Bettman and his executive team for not looking beyond they're noses and creating a future for a game that all can be proud of. The possible, probable links to CTE aside.
30
Doesn't appear that fighting, which is waning in the NHL, is a major cause of concussions. That said, I agree that it's totally ridiculous that fisticuffs are still permitted.
Equally concerning to me as a hockey fan, is how the sport continues to require only minimal helmet protection and does not mandate facial protection.
You can't watch more than a game or two without a player receiving a facial laceration from a puck, a high stick (often inadvertent) or in the most terrifying incidents, from a skate blade.
Today's players have all grown up wearing full facial cages from pee-wee hockey through college. Why the NHL continues to permit this facial assault on its players is baffling. Cages should be mandated.
Equally concerning to me as a hockey fan, is how the sport continues to require only minimal helmet protection and does not mandate facial protection.
You can't watch more than a game or two without a player receiving a facial laceration from a puck, a high stick (often inadvertent) or in the most terrifying incidents, from a skate blade.
Today's players have all grown up wearing full facial cages from pee-wee hockey through college. Why the NHL continues to permit this facial assault on its players is baffling. Cages should be mandated.
I totally agree. Hockey is a beautiful sport without the savagery of fighting. I really fell in love with the game when as a kid I got to see the old Soviet Red Army team play in the Garden decades ago. No fighting was allowed because international matches don't allow it. Hockey was still great to watch then. No other sport tolerates this barbarism.
Sounds like if Trump wins the presidency, this guy would make a great --- excuse me, the very very best ever --- Surgeon General.
5
Criminal charges need to be brought. Depraved indifference with consequences of death debilitation and an excruciating tortuous decline ending in depression dementia and suicide. This must be stopped.
4
Oh boy...
Betteman runs a real risk to his legacy by speaking like the tobacco industry used to... the way the NRA speaks....climate change deniers...those that thought the world was flat...
Betteman runs a real risk to his legacy by speaking like the tobacco industry used to... the way the NRA speaks....climate change deniers...those that thought the world was flat...
24
No surprise here. I guess you forgot: Gary is always the smartest person in the room!
1
This article is a good reminder, especially to more casual hockey fans, of why Bettman is so often, and deservedly, booed loudly at hockey games...
26
You know, he's onto something. For one, C.T.E. is not a disease, but a post-mortem condition. The New York Times' copy editors should be more assertive when reviewing these stories. For another, we've always *known* about "punch-drunk" ex-boxers and other athletes, but we only began to find and catalog these plaques in the brain tissue a few years ago. I still wonder what serves as the control for these observations. Are the majority -- an overwhelming majority -- of brains belonging to comparably aged individuals who did not suffer a series of concussions during their lifetime absent of these plaques? Every time an ex-player's brain is found by Boston U. to have C.T.E., there is plenty of press coverage. But have enough non-player brains been studied closely enough to note that these plaques are definitively the result of concussions? I'm not saying brain injuries don't add up, but I do think there's something not entirely there about what we know about causes and effects of C.T.E. Is it definitely caused by multiple concussions, and are its symptoms definitely different than other forms of dementia? There appears to be a correlation but I'm still not convinced of causation. I'm not sure many in the media have gotten that answer and it's up to scientists (aside from Boston University, which from a funding perspective has skin in this game) to figure that out for certain. For now, I can understand why Bettman's dancing around it like this, from a liability perspective.
2
CTE is a disease. http://www.webmd.com/brain/what-is-chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy-cte
4
CTE is a disease.
4
Some of what you say here is on the money. However, a few issues:
1) You are right that CTE is currently identified only by histological examination of post-mortem tissue, however, it does not follow that CTE is therefore not a disease. Indeed the absence of histological evidence of any disease process means one of two things: a) The pathologist is not looking in the right spot (i.e. sampling error), or b) The pathologist is looking in the right spot, but does not know what to look for (i.e. a bad pathologist; or inadequacy of current diagnostic capabilities and/or resolution).
2) While prospective, adequately designed control groups are decidedly lacking to date within the context of CTE research; evidence accrued from other studies (such as control brains gathered in brain banks for the purpose of studying Alzheimer disease and others) suggests that, no, people who have not been exposed to trauma are not running around with CTE-type tauopathy.
3) You are completely correct in your statement that the status of current CTE science is sufficient to have identified correlation but not causation.
1) You are right that CTE is currently identified only by histological examination of post-mortem tissue, however, it does not follow that CTE is therefore not a disease. Indeed the absence of histological evidence of any disease process means one of two things: a) The pathologist is not looking in the right spot (i.e. sampling error), or b) The pathologist is looking in the right spot, but does not know what to look for (i.e. a bad pathologist; or inadequacy of current diagnostic capabilities and/or resolution).
2) While prospective, adequately designed control groups are decidedly lacking to date within the context of CTE research; evidence accrued from other studies (such as control brains gathered in brain banks for the purpose of studying Alzheimer disease and others) suggests that, no, people who have not been exposed to trauma are not running around with CTE-type tauopathy.
3) You are completely correct in your statement that the status of current CTE science is sufficient to have identified correlation but not causation.
1
As the Commissioner, Mr. Bettmann should put the safety of his players above all else. His denial of the link to head injuries and CTE indicates he needs to go. He's obviously received to many hits himself.
3
The commissioner represents the interests of the owners, not the players.
5
You're right, that's important to remember - Bettman has never prioritized the good of the game or its players.
Players have long been disposable. Despite the rise of the NHLPA (which has certainly improved the lot of players), the health of those who played in the NHL decades ago is not a priority to owners.
Perhaps Mr. Bettman would like to volunteer for a controlled experiment in which his brain is carefully assessed before his head is subject to numerous blows to the point of a concussion and then evaluated over a period of time to assess what, if any changes occur compared to his pre-concussed state and also compared to individuals who did not endure such impacts.
If he truly believes that there are no significant consequences, he should scarcely hesitate to make this sacrifice for science.
If he truly believes that there are no significant consequences, he should scarcely hesitate to make this sacrifice for science.
40
This is a great idea
4
Many hockey fans have suggested this "experiment" over the years. Come on, Gary. Show your support for science.
You have Got to be kidding me. .
2
As the commissioner, Gary Bettman will be like the spokespersons for the tobacco industry, who continued to deny the link between smoking and lung cancer long after the link was established beyond any reasonable doubt. He reports to the owners, and they are not interested in the truth if it interferes with profits.
15
Terrible. Wouldn't the prudent thing to do be to try to protect the players as much as possible and take care of those that have suffered because of CTE. Look at the owners of the teams in Buffalo, Boston, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Chicago and Detroit. I can't imagine they are really worried about spending the money to take care of the men who created much of their wealth.
Bettman has generally been behind the times in his thinking, but when he can hurt his ex-players with this kind of attitude you know it's going to come back to haunt them.
Bettman has generally been behind the times in his thinking, but when he can hurt his ex-players with this kind of attitude you know it's going to come back to haunt them.
3
Mr. Bettman's denial is akin to the climate change denials brought forth by many conservatives with a pro-carbon agenda and/or an anti-liberal bent.
He is obviously putting forth his denial in order to enhance the NHL's chance of winning its lawsuit.
He is obviously putting forth his denial in order to enhance the NHL's chance of winning its lawsuit.
11
There is no good answer for CTE and football. Playing football at any age will probably hurt your brain. Parents shouldn't let their kids play HS football, if they want their children to live their life without some brain impairment. And pro footballers should know that their lives will very possibly be diminished and shortened because of their well-compensated actions on the football field. Is it worth it?
I think that football will die a slow death. Knowledge is power. And we have the power not to be modern, diminished gladiators if we value ourselves.
I think that football will die a slow death. Knowledge is power. And we have the power not to be modern, diminished gladiators if we value ourselves.
1
Pathetic. Bettman hides behind legalise to avoid future payouts of the inevitable lawsuits. Bettman will be proven wrong and will be forced to eat crow. Let's see how the NHL player's union responds to this sorry attempt at ignorance.
1
Denial of facts is not just limited to the political realm. These comments will set back the NHL for a while and it's frightening to think of how such ignorance will hurt the brand. Particularly when current and past players begin taking their own lives similar to those in the NFL.
7
Gary:
To quote Sarah...You're being ridiculous...acknowledge and then try to work with the union on a program...don't live a lie....very Trumpian in nature.
To quote Sarah...You're being ridiculous...acknowledge and then try to work with the union on a program...don't live a lie....very Trumpian in nature.
6
Well it is fairly evident that Mr Bettman has taken one to many blows to the head. Amazing what someone will say/do to try and avoid a major lawsuit like the NFL
2
Not many kids playing hockey will make it to the NHL but the professional leagues set to tone and substance for all sports. This Commissioner is out of it and needs to be replaced.
11
" CTE remains unknown.”?
Right up there with the "unknown" health effects of smoking or the "unknown" consequences of climate change!
Right up there with the "unknown" health effects of smoking or the "unknown" consequences of climate change!
5
Incredible. What a shill for the NHL owners.
25
Bettman has CTE if he continues to deny the scientifically proven relationship between brain damage and hard knocks to the cranium.
21
Pretty much common sense. Repeated blows to any body part and its going to suffer in some way. The brain being far for complex will suffer even more. Bettman just do the right thing, stop being a coward and come forward. You may actually get some respect.
1
Ah, there you go, you used the word science, Mr. Buttman thinks science is overrated.
2