A United States Federal Court in Minneapolis has unsealed
E-mails dealing with the concussion lawsuit between the National Hockey League
and its former players linking fighting to concussions.
TSN’s Rick Westhead reports on their site that one of the
exchanges includes a 2011 E-mail from Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly linking fighting
to concussions, depression and personal tragedies.
In the report it also says
that a top official for the league has made a contention that players have used
pills to help them with everything from waking up, to falling asleep, to easing
pain and just getting amped up.
Daly’s, September 2011 E-mail regarding the personal
tragedies, was sent in reference to the three enforcers, Derek Boogaard, Rick
Rypien and Wade Belak, who had passed away within a span of four months.
Another of the E-mails was one from an article entitled “Getting
Rid of Hockey’s Goons,” in The Globe and Mail, that former Chief Disciplinarian
for the NHL and current Toronto Maple Leafs President, Brendan Shanahan sent to
Daly and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
Westhead’s article mentioned that Bettman’s response to
Shanahan and Daly was “Do you remember
when we tried to eliminate the staged fights, the fighters objected and so did
the players association. Eliminating fighting would mean eliminating the jobs
of the ‘fighters’ meaning that these guys would not have NHL careers.”
The article also said that the email response went on to
say, “An interesting question is whether being
an NHL fighter does this to you (I don’t believe so) or whether a certain type
of person who wouldn’t otherwise be skilled enough to be an NHL player gravitates
to this job (I believe more likely).”
Daly’s response to the reply was, “I tend to think it is a little bit of both. Fighting, raises the
incidence of head injuries and concussions, which raises the incidence of
depression onset, which raises the incidence of personal tragedies.”
Bettman also had wrote that “I believe
fighting and possible concussions could aggravate a condition, but if you think
about the tragedies there were probably certain predispositions.”
He added, “Again the
bigger issue is whether the NHLPA would consent to eliminate a certain type of
role and player. And if they don’t, might we try to do it anyway and take the
fight.”
Westhead also wrote that Shanahan’s response to the E-mails
was, “The previous regime at the NHLPA
would definitely fight it. But I thought their current position on illegal
checks to the head is that it should encompass all contact, if we keep this
simply about concussions and brain injuries then how can they argue against it.”
Shanahan also added that NHL tough guys had always found
ways to self-medicate when dealing with their role. He wrote, “This is not the same role as it was in the 80’s
and 90’s. Fighters used to aspire to become regular players. Train and practice
to move from the fourth line up to the third. Now they train and practice to
become more fearsome fighters.” He added, “They used to take alcohol or cocaine to cope, now they take pills. Pills
to sleep. Pills to wake up. Pills to ease the pain. Pills to amp up. Getting
them online.”
The TSN article mentioned that Bettman’s final E-mail in the
September 3, 2011 chain stated that it was not certain that the NHLPA would
agree to eliminate fighting.
Lawyers for the former players say that the E-mails
contradict the league’s stance on the link between hockey and long-term brain injuries.
Michael Cashman, the lawyer for the former players said
that, “While the National Football League
has recently admitted the link between repetitive trauma in sport and long-term
brain injuries, the NHL continues to deny the link, insisting that hockey is
not football.”
Cashman added, “Contrary
to those public denials, this internal E-mail from senior NHL Executive Bill
Daly to Commission Bettman, acknowledges the link between head injuries,
depression and personal tragedies.”
The documents disclosed by U.S. Federal Court Judge are just a few
of the exhibits that the league had fought to keep hidden from public view in
the case. Judge Nelson’s ruling came after the lawyer for the players had
appealed a magistrate judge’s ruling agreeing with the NHL to keep the exhibits
sealed.
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