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Touchline • Issue 17 • 19
short time were much worse than a single big injury. “It’s a
vulnerable system,” he said.
Commenting on the research, Prof John Hardy, from University
College London and one of the UK’s leading researchers on
brain disease, said he was not surprised by the results and
warned against rushing people back into action.
He said: “If there’s knee damage they’ll have three months off,
but after a head injury they’re back on the field once they can
count backwards from 10.”
“I think there’s much too relaxed an attitude to head injury,
we need to minimise the occurrence and when it happens it
needs to be taken seriously and have the proper time off no
matter how long it takes.”
Prof Hardy has previously called for boxing to be banned, after
the repeated blows to the head were linked with dementia
later in life.
The link with dementia has since been found in other sports
involving regular head injuries.
In another development ten former players have sued the
National Hockey League (NHL), accusing it of not doing
enough to prevent concussions.
The lawsuit seeks damages and medical monitoring for all
NHL players who retired before 14 February 2013.
The case comes three months after the National Football
League paid $765m (£474m) to settle a similar action.
Both lawsuits allege their respective leagues hid the dangers
of repeated concussions from their players.
Studies have linked multiple concussions with chronic
traumatic encephalopathy, a disease with symptoms including
memory loss and mood swings.
The NHL has not responded to the lawsuit, but earlier this
year Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league had “a
long history, going back to 1997, of taking concussions very
seriously”.
“We spend a lot of time, money and effort working with the
players’ association on player safety.”
The lawsuit alleges that despite the creation of a programme
to study brain injuries in 1997 the league took no action to
reduce the number or severity during a study period from
1997 to 2004.
The league is also faulted for waiting until 2010 to make
targeting a player’s head a penalty, continuing to not ban
fighting or body-checking and promoting a “culture of
violence” by employing “enforcers” who are only on the hockey
rink to fight.
“The NHL’s active and purposeful concealment of the severe
risks of brain injuries exposed players to unnecessary dangers
they could have avoided had the NHL provided them with
truthful and accurate information and taken appropriate
action to prevent needless harm,” the lawsuit says.
Former All-Star defenceman Gary Leeman and Toronto Maple
Leafs scorer Rick Vaive are among those who have joined the
class action against the North American league.
In a statement, Vaive said hockey players “were kept in the
dark about the risks of concussions and many of the former
NHL players are now suffering from debilitating head injuries
from their time in the league”.
For more information on concussion and resources for parents
and coaches go to:
www.sportsconcussionaustralasia.com
© THOMAS FAIVRE-DUBOZ
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