Todd Ewen, a former professional hockey player, took his own life in September 2015 in the basement of his St. Louis home. Ewen had been suffering from depression and memory loss since his retirement from the NHL, in 1998. Before his death, he confided in his wife, Kelli, that he feared he may have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE-a neurodegenerative disease that most experts agree is linked to repetitive head trauma.
After a grueling decade-plus career in the NHL, Ewen exhibited all the tell-tale symptoms. Kelli sent his brain to the neuropathologist Lili-Naz Hazrati to be analyzed for signs of CTE. Six months later, Hazrati called with shocking results: Ewen did not have CTE. The NHL seized on these results in its defense against a class-action suit brought by former players for the league’s negligence regarding head injuries. Hazrati went on to act as an expert witness for the NHL and pointed to Ewen’s case as an example of the inconsistency in CTE pathology. In her expert report and a subsequent deposition, she claimed that there was no link between CTE and head trauma and that CTE was not a disease at all.
Despite Hazrati’s diagnosis, Kelli was convinced that her husband had had CTE. She had sections of Ewen’s brain sent from the Canadian Concussion Centre to Boston, so a world-leading expert on CTE, Ann McKee, could retest them. In late 2018, McKee announced her own conclusions from the tests: Todd had, in fact, had CTE.
In this short documentary from The Atlantic, Kelli Ewen recounts the role her late husband played in the sport of hockey before and after his death.
Subscribe to The Atlantic on KZhead: bit.ly/subAtlanticYT
Story update: Todd Ewen's widow Kelli filed a lawsuit against the NHL in California district court. Read more here: bit.ly/KelliEwenLawsuit
And she won. Being a white female sure helps with winning $$
@@That90sShow So you are not happy she won ? Interesting, what is it that you do for a living ? What have you done consistently for ten years that you get paid for ?
The NHL will only admit head trauma is related to CTE when it is financially ruinous to continue denying it.
Yup!
Dr. Haaerati slow a$$ going to h double hockey sticks with the Lies . What an insult to the families
Your forgetting the NFL is doing the same thing
When smoking didn’t cause lung cancer. Now repeated head trauma doesn’t cause CTE.
$ > health
Based on this documentary's portrayal of this Dr Hazrati character, she either: a) knows nothing about the human brain b) knows nothing about CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) or concussion injuries c) knows about CTE but somehow doesn't know what it looks like or where to look for it in a human brain d) was simply far more interested in accepting financial hand-outs from the NHL in exchange for publicly stating there was no CTE that she could find in the late Todd Ewen's brain rather than conducting competent, impartial, and professional medical science e) * ALL OF THE ABOVE ? * As this documentary video shows, Boston University's Dr. Ann Mckee re-examined Todd Ewen's brain using a more extensive test and found CTE in the frontal cortex section of Mr Ewen’s brain and that “the staging was considered to be consistent with Stage 2 of the disease". Where did most NHL fighters usually get hit when fighting? Most often the front of the head. Where is the frontal cortex of the human brain located? At the front of the head right behind the forehead. What is the frontal cortex and why is it important? The frontal cortex is one of four paired lobes in the brain's cerebral cortex, and it plays vital roles in memory, attention, motivation, and numerous other daily tasks. How many times did Mr Ewen get lost or forget where he was or what time he had to show up at the rink to coach his team? How many years did Mr Ewen suffer from depression and episodes of violent anger? I'm not even a doctor and all of the above is easy enough to figure out with common sense. Dr Hazrati should be allowed nowhere near any patients with brain injuries.
Or maybe she has CTE and doesn’t know what she is doing
Often times these types of relationships get misconstrued as the organization gives the person money in order to express a certain opinion but in reality the organization gives that money because of the outlying opinion they already held. She’s probably not ever been formally educated on CTE and how to analyze a brain afflicted with it and considering her financial incentive to keep it that way she stays in the dark. It’s another form of confirmation bias, so to speak.
Her opinions, whether the result of ignorance or graft, should not be given any credibility by the honour of being associated with any Canadian concussion panel! She needs to be removed asap!
Or she's brainless
D.
So are we just going to ignore that the NFL already tried to deny that CTE exists and was exposed big time? I dont see how this is even a debate
Bettman is a lawyer and is much better at PR than Goodell, plus he benefits from the fact that hockey is a 2nd class sport in the US, where Football and Jesus are on the same level in certain parts of the country
Gary Bettman just says “hockey is not football” and that’s basically his entire argument
Gary Bettman is universally despised by everyone in the sport from the fans, the players, and probably the coaches too. The only constituency the NHL serves, is the business interests of the franchise owners.
I don't like Bettman either, but the game has grown exponentially under his leadership. For that the players have been handsomely rewarded in terms of more jobs and huge contracts. They might not like him either, but it's because of Bettman these players have become wealthy. If you go back far enough in NHL history you'll find the players were owned by the team and did whatever the owner wanted, there was no negotiation, no trade, no discussion. And those players played the game for a pittance.
@@JJJJ-gl2uf I don't argue that the players have been rewarded. However that is purely as an unintended consequence of the NHL as a profit-generating vehicle of the owners. The lock-outs are evidence of the tension between rewarding players and maximising profits.
@@JJJJ-gl2uf Bob Goodenow was the reason that the players made a lot of money from the game!! Goodenow's predecessor was Alan Eagleson, who was supposed to look out for the players he worked for. But instead he was more interested in enriching himself & working in lockstep with the owners, which allowed the owners to never fear a labor stoppage because Eagleson wasn't serving the players. Eagleson was nothing but a crook who did time for his crimes & left hockey industry in shame.
@@JJJJ-gl2uf as a fan who pays their salaries I don't care how much the organizations are worth or how much players are getting and owners are making..that's irrelevant to the common fan who works every day...watered down product, too many teams, unaffordable ticket prices, work stoppages, rule changes, etc all under Bettmans tenure..the game has been lost long ago..why do you think the WNBA has a better tv deal..thanks Gary
NFL + NHL = Entertainment in cost of living🤦🏻♂️
UFC
Excellent video, thank you for sharing!
Scum doctors took and oath upon receiving their medical licenses and took the money instead of upholding that oath. Greed!
You sound surprised, Drs are all about money , their education forces them into the occupation, they’re screwed without the stethoscope,
Scum sports leagues like the nhl and nfl by denying CTE talk about taking the money instead it is all about money and greed that is the real truth here
"Doctor" Lili-Naz Hazrati was taking kickbacks from the NHL. She should be ashamed. No, she should be kicked out of medicine. How could someone who claims to be a healer be so greedy and cruel? Hope she enjoyed her blood money. I sure hope she's had her license revoked. Does anyone know?
The combination of stopping what you love. Playing hockey. Plus the brain damage from fighting and just playing hockey. Is a lethal combination. One alone is bad enough. Both is is beyond bad.
RIP Todd Ewen, Sadly I never knew you past away , until now. I am shocked and sad and I pray Kelli gets everything she is fighting for. My condolences Kelli Ewen and to your 3 boys.
This is why I stopped watching ice hockey. The NHL put Scott Stevens in the Hall of Fame, when his career was built on ending the careers of more talented men, and giving them brain damage. Lindros will never be in the Hall of Fame, and he had more talent in AAA than Scott Stevens had his entire NHL career
I thought Lindros was in the hall of fame
I mean, take a look at all the ex-hockey players who have died young or relatively young: Probert, Ewen, Boogaard, Belek, Rypien, Montador. All of them have one major thing in common, they were all enforcers in the NHL.
Bob Probert died because he did too much cocaine! You don't even know what you're talkin about!
Enforcers LOL! obviously you know nothing about hockey that's not what we call them!
How about we get rid of the NBA as well! I can name all kinds of injuries that happened in basketball.
Well your Brain can Get Rattled in your Head When you get Hit in Hockey, NOT JUST FROM FIGHTING. Most Fighters Admitted to Their Concussions being From unexpected Hits or getting smashed in the face with the puck.
I fear something like this may end up happening to Sidney Crosby. He has had multiple concussions throughout his career.
Sid is Canadian and won't have to pay for even a brain transplant if that's what it takes.
His concussions came from cheap shots which were a result of the nhl removing enforcers and changing the rules for fighting.
I grew up watching the NHL and NFL. I learned to skate and played pick up ice hockey and organized tackle football in high school. As a lawyer, I view the issue of CTE from that perspective. My love of the sports cannot blind me to their brutality and barbarism, of which fighting in hockey is just a small part. As more scientific information becomes available linking the sports to irreversible brain damage, their demise is inevitable. It may not occur for 30 or 40 years, but it will happen. Public opinion and the cost of litigation surrounding CTE will cause hockey and football as we know the sports to collapse under their own weight. Already, participation in football is declining across the United States from Pop Warner through high school as a result of more mothers keeping their sons out and student athletes choosing to play sports that don't pose such grave neurological hazards. In the final analysis the risk/reward of not playing football and hockey will ultimately exceed the billions of dollars each sport generates on the college, and particularly the professional level.
what did you play on lakes lmfao
I'm a boxer, and if I choose to get involved in a sport I am well aware of the hazards that is my choice.
Yeah but they don’t say shit in hockey they can’t even tell you if you’re hurt the trainers don’t know anything the parents don’t know anything you just hope bad things happen to the other guy and not you.
Hockey is never going to die as long as Canada lives
Those hockey helmets dont look like they protect u
JUST 50 HOURS-OVER JUST 2 DAYS-TO EXAMINE EWEN AND SEE WHETHER HE HAD CTE OR NOT? WOW.
I don’t remember reading anything about this T. Ewen fellow’s death (it seemed like Boogaard, Rypien, & Belak were all over social media). RIP. Also that Ann Mckee(?) lady seems to appear in all these videos-hockey, American football-to discuss CTE. Pretty serious subject.
damn... When i was 16 having my 3rd concussion, my doctor told my my father, do not let him play again. I went down to USA boarding school on a hockey scholarship... 3 more concussions later, I couldn't get insurance to play in USA college hockey based on doctor's reports. Goodbye Dartmouth College . Big life changing decisions had to happen after that.
The point at the end is the truth. NHL players need to know that playing in the league will leave you permanently disfigured. Whether that is mentally or physically. Think wisely before going pro. You might regret it down the line...
I am out of BMX, I have depression and anxiety...
9:05 bare knuckle hits to the head...." I don't know whether it's good for the brain or not" . A reporter needs to find her academic records and see if she is perhaps a fake doctor. This story is going to have long legs. Gary? Gary? You can add a few more zeros to the final award.
Why doesn't any body know that fighting only causes 5 to 10 percent of all concussions body checking is the other 90 to 95 percent
Yeah that's because about 5 to 10 percent of the players were fighters and now is why hits to the head are illegal in minor hockey and the NHL. 5 to 10 percent is still a substantial amount of concussions and necessitates action to try to mitigate such injuries. CTE can also be caused by smaller non-concussive blows to the head, such as punches, or helmet to helmet tackles in football
Liam you are correct and make a great point. I remember incredibly violent hits to Paul Kariya, Gary Suter, the Lindros brothers, Doug Gilmore, Jeff Beukeboom (as a Ranger he was abused). One playoff season (91?) Geoff Courtnall and Gary Roberts should have died for all the hits they took. From about 1990 to 2010? the game was just so fast and dangerous as the mix of intimidation and european skills were fighting for dominance.
A scary thing is a lot of doctors out there and not qualified to be a doctor.
i love hockey but ffs cte is real and getting your head smashed in hockey will cause cte
Hell, even in Auto Racing, a very safe sport there are two high profile likely cases of it, however it's not confirmed as Eric McClure is still alive and Kevin Grubb did not have sufficient material to determine it. This was only in NASCAR, think of the issues from other racing.
@@Dexter037S4 Do they get it from crashing?
I always wondered what the man was like who knocked Bob Probert out cold with one solid right (the sole player to have this distinction0, what he was like off the ice, what he sounded like, and why he committed suicide. Sad story.
That doctor needs to lose her medical license asap. What a disgraceful, greedy POS.
It would be interesting to study players who did not wear helmets during this time period. I recall reading a story about what happened to Joe Murphy and that he tells of a story in which Shawn Burr (RIP) slammed right into him and it drove Murphy right into the boards and fractured his skull. Helmets might serve their purpose by preventing injuries from errant pucks or awkward falls and other such instances and there were those few episodes involving players like Brad Marsh and Ron Duguay taking concussions. But you wonder if the grandfathered helmetless players were that good deal less likely to take the kind of hit that Murphy did in that instance from Burr or what likely happened to Ewen in similar incidents as well.
The more equipment you add, the injuries will increase.
Dick Butkus (RIP) said a similar thing about football players leading with their helmets when tackling.
They all wore helmets. In 1979 the nhl made helmets mandatory.
great top quality journalism
Why do you want journalists who can't play sports to control men who can? Grown men choose to do dangerous activities. What's next, an "expose`" on the dangers of wingsuits and skydiving?
@@FightersHeart Big difference there. When you go skydiving you accept and expect that if something goes wrong you probably die. When you decide to play hockey (especially at a time when CTE was largely unknown) you don't expect to come out of it with brain damage.
@@WiFi314 Wrong. People have always known about "CTE". They called it "punch drunk" or "punchy" or, simply, "too many blows to the head". Wait....you believe that in 2005....people thought it was HEALTHY to get punched in the head? Where the hell were you raised?
@@FightersHeart What they didn't know is how prevalent CTE is in other sports, not only in compative sports, but in full contact team sports; and not just from fighting. How long did it take the NFL to admit that CTE was an inherent risk of the sport? Dr. Ann Mckee, a neuropatholigist and Director of Boston University CTE Center.has found CTE in a deceased high school player. She has stated that it is much more wide spread then originally thought. The NHL, as well as others associated with hockey, have continually denied that "hockey fighting" can cause long term neurological problems much less other impact related head injuries. Parents of children now know about how prevalent CTE is in football and hockey. They can make an informed decision as to whether they want their child to participate.
Dr. Hazrati has an active Twitter account: @HazratiNaz
Looks deleted now.
Looks like it's deleted now.
Surely you aren't calling for a public lynching are you ?
Stories like this really terrify me. First, I can't believe the lengths the NHL was willing to go to deny CTE and the role hockey played in the long-term health of the player's brains. The NHL has a duty to have player safety at the forefront of all their actions and decisions, and they breached that duty. They took advantage of Todd and his medical records to continue making money and avoid taking a proactive role in preventing brain injuries in the future. Instead, they denied allegations and argued that player safety was their priority, even though they were blatantly ignoring evidence of the long-term consequences of their sport. The original lawsuit was filed in 2013 but it took them until 2018 to settle and settle without admitting liability or wrongdoing at anything. How many years did the NHL tolerate or even encourage a culture of violence, including out-of-play fighting, as a part of the game's tradition and entertainment value? More needs to be done to eliminate violence from the sport. It is not an integral part of the game. It's not simply enough to change the rules about fighting. The NHL has a responsibility to prioritize player safety and take appropriate measures to minimize the risks associated with concussions. The NHL can play an active role in promoting the development and use of improved equipment and technology. This could include advancements in helmet design, as well as other protective gear. They could also use some of the massive amounts of money they make each year to support research and innovation to better understand the causes, effects, and prevention of concussions. Their funding would help the development of evidenced-based concussion prevention strategies. As a governing body of a sports organization, which by nature should be considered a healthcare organization, they should be held to similar ethical boundaries as healthcare professions, including non-maleficence. Non-maleficence is the ethical principle that requires individuals and organizations to do no harm and prevent or minimize any potential harm to others. We would not tolerate blatant abuse or misconduct. By not providing the safest environment possible, they are abusing their players. Unfortunately, things like this are not isolated to the NHL. Many people have seen a similar series of events in the NFL. In the same fashion, the NFL settled a lawsuit regarding concussions in their players. The commonalities between the NFL and NHL are blatant. Both settlements fail to hold the governing bodies fully accountable for their roles in concealing the risks of head injuries in their respective sports. We need to push for the NFL, NHL, and other sports governing bodies to take steps to actively prevent head injuries, not be retroactive when the law tells them to. They need to do better and as a society we need to demand better.
Soooo you were the hairdresser that gave him the mullet? And he married you?!
WHO GIVES A *FUCK!* LOVE IS LOVE, DON’T BLAME HER FOR LOVING A HOCKEY PLAYER! IT IS MOST CERTAINLY NOT HER FAULT!
@@miss-astronomikal-mcmxcvii simp
So how exactly do you make a sport like hockey safer? They are as strict a it gets when it comes to dishing out huge punishments for intentionally hitting the head. What else could you possibly do?
bubble wrap the helmets lmfao
Good point, but that is a separate issue. The NHL, denying science and trying to avoid a huge payout because of that sack of shit Bettman, is the main issue
HOCKEY PLAYERS SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE A HIGHLY RESPECTED, RELIABLE DOCTOR WHILE PLAYING IN THE NHL! SIMPLE AS THAT!
They do
They also have the choice to not play hockey , their choice knowing the risks. You’re going to make millions , pretty easy choice for most poor while trash
The world will never stop making money off of the dumb people in the world, and putting good people in danger in the process. That's my prediction for the future of humanity. Just because there are dumb people in the world doesn't mean you have to take advantage of them. Nobody would be committing suicide over hockey if you took the money out of the equation.
But they keep saying it’s only a NFL problem.
yeah, right, NOOOOOO is this "i wasn't even an athlete when i got mine" TBI survivor's reaction. while i don't think they've had any soccer or rugby folks' brains donated for examination, you can definitely get a TBI from those, if you went down wrong i'm reasonably certain you could playing basketball which is while not no-contact much lower contact than NHL or NFL, and i sort-of know (on my bff's facebook list) somebody who got one working as a first responder and is now facing a life of grand mal seizures and being unable to do what she *wanted* to do as her career at 25. also, the research is starting to show that if you have enough total hits even if none of them were particularly major the cumulative effect can be at least comparable.
Yes, fighting is a part of hockey mostly due to extreme passion these players hold for the game. However, fighting should never be the main focus of the game that’s what boxing is for.
Boxing is about defeating the other player with respect and in the rules. This is just plain fighting filled with hates and frustration
that's bullshit. They fight because if they don't they won't get to stay in the NHL because the NHL refuses to see that goals scored don't mean much towards a player's ability to be functional on the team. It's laziness on the part of the NHL to continue allowing fighting and even hip/hard checking in the game. The NHL won't lose popularity if they tone down the violence of the game. Fighting isn't necessary. That's how the Soviets came over here and forced us to change our style of play. They didn't need to hit to win. They hit because they had to against the Canadian teams that were far more aggressive. The game can change, and those that love hockey will always love hockey even if they don't get to barrel into some dude at 20 miles an hour.
@@Southboundpachyderm the NHL won't lose popularity???? Where you been the last twenty years
I love hockey. I used to love the fights too. I’m 100% against it now. The inhumanity of the repercussions from fighting is unethical
I LOVE HOCKEY, AND I LOVE HOCKEY PLAYERS. BUT, IF HOCKEY PLAYERS ARE GOING TO FIGHT AND YOU KNOW THEY ARE GOING TO GET INJURED, DO ALL OF OUR FAVORITE HOCKEY PLAYERS AND US CONCERNED NHL FANS A FAVOR AND MAKE DAMN SURE THEY GET THE CORRECT, ACCURATE TREATMENT FOR THEIR INJURIES! THEY LOVE THE GAME, THEY LOVE THE FANS, THEY DON’T WANT TO LOSE LOYALTY TO THE GAME, AND I FEEL FOR ANY HOCKEY PLAYER WHO DEALS WITH THE STIGMA SURROUNDING MENTAL HEALTH AND TRAUMA, STEREOTYPES, SYSTEMIC RACISM, AND WHATEVER OTHER THINGS ARE BEING HIDDEN FROM US NHL AND HOCKEY FANS.
Why are you screaming
Oh shit this is gonna be epic
Fighting is part of the game . It's not the NHL fault . If you don't have fighting they people will use stick for cheap shoots etc
A lot of problems would be solved if they made the players wear a full cage on their helmets. Lacrosse players do, and nobody questions their toughness. Also, that era that Todd played in is a relic of the past. I can understand if players drop the gloves in the heat of the moment, but if teams are signing players just for their fighting skills and not their athletic talent, then it becomes a spiralling arms race and you get guys like Tony Twist taking up a spot on the roster. For better or worse, the game is becoming more skill focused.
@@marmalaterjones4526 adding more equipment isn't the answer..will just be more dirty than now
@@marmalaterjones4526 lacrosse isn't hockey..they already added helmets then visors and if they go full cage route it will be a stick show just like the NCAA
Looks like ice hockey is still stuck in Slap Shot mode. Fighting is entertainment which is why it is tolerated. Passion is no excuse. Fighting should be totally eliminated from the sport. I thought that head trauma was a fact in NFL. Hands up I know nothing about ice hockey as I live in England but we play Rugby League where there is a zero policy on any infractions.
Stick to rugby mate..hockey is and always will be violent..if you try and ban fighting guys will just swing their sticks and throw cheap shots..you see it the past ten years.. Fighting cleans up the game and let's the stars flourish
this video is so underrated.
The goal is to help the families who still suffer from CTE.
I sometimes wonder if I have or will have CTE. Played hockey since I was 4 all the way up to 22 in college. I’ve took a lot of hits as a smaller guy (5’10). I’ve had stitches on my chin 3 times and eyebrow and forehead twice. I’ve only been diagnosed with a concussion once when I was real young but never in hockey, I would just keep playing. Anyone think I will suffer from CTE later on in life?
No
I'm no expert, but unless you experienced a great many repeated blows directly to your head, I think it's unlikely. CTE develops mostly from many repeated impacts - including small ones that do not cause concussions - over many years. For example, if you played football as an offensive lineman for twenty years, butting heads with opposing lineman hundreds of times over the course of a single season, then there's cause for concern. Or if you were a hockey enforcer who got punched in the face and head around a hundred times in a season, then there's cause for concern. Absent that high number of more minor impacts - even you suffered several major impacts or concussions - CTE is not likely to result.
@@humanbeing2420no sub concussive blows will give you cte but a couple concussions can cause it to develop as well it’s common sense. When the literature was coming out in relation to NFL players they were first only finding the disease in people who had several concussions, it wasn’t until later they made the discovery you could still get it from sun concussive blows when they researched someone’s brain who played football but never got a concussion but still got cte.
So sad
I boxed for about ten years maybe I have something wrong with my brain and I'm just ranting!
Beyond the head trauma, which I do NOT deny. I think you have to also consider retirement from something that has consumed and driven your entire existence. I think that drives the depression, the feeling of being adrift and alone. Then you add in the mood fluctuations from the head trauma...bad things are going to happen. Speaking from my own experience, I started lacrosse at age 7, then played through top-level college lacrosse in the U.S. I was really, really lost for a few years in my early 20s because the one thing that had driven and defined me was gone. I can only imagine being a pro and making a living and a life from a sport...then it is all gone one day. Again, I think depression alone, outside of head trauma, is devastating.
There's a HUGE difference between depression and the behaviors that CTE victims all displayed.
This is one part of the game i don't like. They should get it out of the game
Wow- the ethics of DrHazrai... Terrible... & for nhl to use this as a their evidence makes them highly suspicious too... But Players decided to do it, & get paid mightily, & been doing before nhl.. So have much responsibility.
I'm a hockey fan but I've never liked fighting in the NHL. I think it's a disgrace and it makes players look immature. Not to mention all the injuries, serious injuries. It needs to stop. My heart goes out to Todd Ewen's family. I will remember all of you in prayer.
Hardly any serious injuries in fighting
Perhaps denying conflicts of interest is an evidence of "brain damage"
thank you for doing this. ♥️😪
Any suggestion of banning fighting brings lots of resistance from the NHL brass. Is there no more " commen sense?"
"League of Denial" anyone? #NFL #CTE #MikeWebster #BostonUniversity #JuniorSeau
Ewen shot himself, my question is how did he have guns if he dad a Domestic Violence Charge? You can't own guns with a DV Charge.
Spare me playing monday morning quarterback
Money is the root of all evil
Actually money is not the root of all evil. It's, for the love of money is the root of all evil, that's what it says in the Bible.
@@JohnDoe-nd6rt correct John doe. Money is an inanimate object. It's not evil, good or anything else. When people covet money and material things above all else, that's when evil persists
Most concussions are results of hits that players make because it is so hard to fight in the modern NHL. If fighting was more prevalent players would become afraid to lay a big hit out of fear of a response.
That's the real problem is neither side want's to admit the truth. Enforcers don't want to admit it's the on ice hits not the fighting and the league wants to just change the policy but can't admit anything because it's possible that would make them liable. It's the crosschecks to the head and the hits up into the body against the boards and on open ice that cause the concussions and CTE. Many enforcers including Tie Domi have said they didn't get any concussions from fighting, their concussions came from hits.
Not to sound morbid, but is it not the risk you take by playing a contact sport?
If these fights happened on a players own time, he could sue for assault. Fight during a game, which was expected and its just part of the players game. I know it gets the crowd pumped but he should be able to go home and be fit enough to live with a family and not have mental issues like the above issues. Despite this information, the fighting is still ok. Boo to you team owners. Not a class act. Go enjoy counting your $$$.
I love hockey. Played it for years as a teenager/young adult until my fucked feet couldn't take it anymore. Love the NHL, but it's time to get rid of the contact part of it. Fans will be upset, but it's not about them. It's about protecting the people who are playing it annd love the game. Would it change the game? Absolutely. But not nearly as "fans" or the NHL pretends it would. The whole dream team thing needs to go away too. Professional sports shouldn't be left entirely to the most elite players. The reason hockey is what it is, is that ANYONE could play it. The soviets understood that very well and it's why for decades their teams dominated the north American teams until the NA started adopting some of the practices of the soviet style. The soviets didn't need to smash some dude to get the puck, and what it forced them to do was to learn how to pass and weave and be creative. It wasn't until they realized how much more physical the NA style was that they had to match it. We don't need fighting. We do not need insanely hard checks or hip checks. You can put a body on a guy and get the puck without smashing the hell out of people. It also creates an environment for players who love the game but get forced into fighting positions because they might score less. That's bullshit too. We shouldn't be perpetuating violence in sports. There's no need for it and all it does is serve to entertain people who don't really care about the game but rather the "rivalry" between teams and the fighting. Fighting is never even that entertaining anyway. It's literally always the same. Grab jerseys, pound the fuck out of the dude while you duck your head. Whoever goes down first "loses" even though no actual fight would be like that.
"not about the fans"????? Without them there is no sport
Goon hockey is embarrassing to Canada
Goon hockey is embarrassing to hockey
ahahah but you idiots started goon hockey lmfao idiot
Not to me it isn't..no one's forcing you to watch..stick to soccer pal
You can get sent to war to risk your life for this country, you should be able to play any sport with any risk that are involved by your own choice.
Long live the NHL!
No, long live the players!
There is a hell and those doctor$ will b there
It is shameful to think blows to your head. Do not have consequences. When I watch NHL fights and how brutal they are. I think of MMA. They should be in this talking head group.
All these people saying, "let them play" are ridiculous. Would hockey be less of a sport if the players were taking better care of their heads? I'm curious what the possible outcomes would be of the NHL recognizing the importance of CTE protection. We've already made checks to head and the scott stevens open ice hit illegal. Would fighting get banned? Would full cages be mandatory? Would that be so bad? People need to do their research on how awful CTE is before they criticize Ewen. Also- did y'all see that episode of Weediquette about the NFL players who are pushing to get cannabis use authorized for active players as a CTE treatment?
Should boxing be illegal? Should skydiving? Skateboarding? Motorcycling? People DIE regularly in all of these sports. Grown men like to play fast, hard, and fight. Mind your own business.
Let’s just get rid of leaving your house then since you could fall and crack your head open
Ben Martens Fighting isn't the only thing that would cause CTE and I honestly don't know why media is so fixated on it. The hits are massive and even 10-15 years ago the helmets were nowhere near what they are now. Nowadays it's the hits that are gonna do players in over fighting, as fighting is nowhere near as often as it once was.
US NCAA hockey is filled with all sorts of stickwork and cheap shot offences that in turn have caused all sorts of head and neck injuries in that sport. Therefore, a very good example as to why banning fighting and making full cages mandatory in the NHL would not be the answer.
They should be more focused on the body armour these players wear nowadays..whats more dangerous? Two guys scrapping or a Tom Wilson like charge and leap wearing armour for pads headhunting??
I know a lot of other certain individuals will get on with attacking the NHL, because they cannot play hockey at all!
money corrupts... she isn't any different.... bought and sold.
These guys are being paid above a million a year, risk vs reward, if it was that big of a problem then the players wouldn't play
I'm not taking any particular stand on this issue, but your argument is faulty. You're putting all the responsibility onto the players themselves and absolving the franchise, while ignoring the fact that historically, humans make incredibly bad decisions for themselves. Lets take formula 1 racing as an example. Up through the 50's, 60's and into the late 70's there were upwards three fatalities each season until strict regulations and safety protocols were put in place. In a field of around 20 drives, that's more than a 10% chance that you will die a very painful, fiery death racing just one season of formula 1. This did not stop young men from deciding they wanted to race, and while that was certainly their prerogative, it doesn't change the fact that the franchise had the power to make the sport much safer for these drivers, and eventually did. The argument here is that the franchise had a moral obligation to ensure the safety of the drives it was making money off of. Sure, risk is part of the equation in all sports, but we can't ignore that the franchise has a monetary stake in keeping the status quo, or that this could potentially mean that athletes are forced to take unnecessary risks simply to play the game. When you hear stories of coaches urging athletes to play injured, or play in ways that significantly increases the chance of injury, then we should be very very sceptical of *why* this is. I do not think hockey should be a non-contact sport, but I do think we should be critical of the franchise and any structures in place that might potentially increase the risk of injury or put pressure on athletes to disregard their own well-being. This idea that athletes are 100% responsible for their own health is BS if their careers / dreams hinge on complying with a system that is rigged against them.
I don’t know why Dixon Hall does like you guys have skate blades on the helmets on your padded and you’re still going to fight... And the ones to or what you call him to do it most of the fighting to protect the other players you guys are young you know pain but shit you start taking drugs heard that pain where do you get older and even when you retire at a young age you going to be like crap shit right over
I was a goalie but was in over 50 drop the gloves and mask fights during my time and I loved it. After 7 broken noses, broken fingers and 4 lost teeth I wouldn't trade it for a minute. Everything I ever learned about teamwork, sacrifice, sticking up for yourself and backing a teammate, I learned from hockey. Gave me the discipline to take pain for longer term gain in the stock market.
Most likely he had CTE and the NHL paid the doc to just lie.
Does Todd have kids ?
1:17
When you work in a mine, silicosis and cave-ins are a risk factor you accept as part of the job. When you work as a fisherman, drowning and killer storms are a risk factor you accept as part of the job. And if you are a hockey enforcer being paid to go out and give and take punches to the head, concussion and traumatic brain injury are a risk factor you accept as part of the job. I smoke a pipe. I've smoked a pipe for 25+ years and I don't intend to stop. I like smoking my pipes. If a doctor some day tells me that I have emphysema or mouth cancer, I won't ask "why" or curse the fates or start filing lawsuits against tobacco companies and pipe carvers. I accept the risk as part of my hobby, the same way skydivers know their parachuts could fail if they get unlucky. As long as you're alive, there's always a risk you'll die, but it must be accepted with the knowledge that you owe the world a death anyway.
The difference is, mining companies don't actively deny those risks. The CTE issue in sports is still relatively fresh news, and the NHL is doing everything they can to deny a link, just like the NFL did, just like big oil did with climate change and just like big tobacco did with cancer. Now the NFL, Exxon (among others) and all tobacco distributors in the US acknowledge those links. The NHL is still holding out
Back when I was in high school I wanted to play hockey for my high school team, but I did not have the $600 to join, so my dad got me into boxing and I won the Golden Gloves Tournament down the road, I ended up in the Oakland Press Newspaper and the school notice this, then one day I got called down to the office and the school offered to pay for me to play hockey for them because I made the papers and I became a person of interest in the community oh, I told the school I wasn't good enough for you when I wanted to play Fuck You I'm still going to box. I have taken several blows to the head in my life and I do suffer from it but it was my choice and I had fun playing sports when I played them it was worth it!
Cool story bro
And some degenerate cry that there are no more brawls like in the past.
thriller author of NINTH CAR at amazon.com books sez: At least two reasons for the NHL's obstinacy: 1. Dumb people go to hockey games to see fights; 2. Fighting = $.
NFL has similar problem. God. sport is tough except golf.
When the NHL gets brought by the Saudis…..everyone will pay attention
Yall are soft.
This is so misleading - barely a fraction of concussions in hockey are caused by fighting. Let's stop demonizing it and start looking at the Brad Marchands and cheap shot artists of the world. Also, clean bodychecks are a main reason - you don't have to be hit in the head to get a concussion. But are we going to eliminate bodychecking? God, I hope not.
couldn't agree with you more. Post-2010's NHL hitting and fighting are a fraction at what they where 20- 25 years ago yet there are twice the injuries. If they want to curb concussions and injury's they have to limit the equipment size specifically Elbow and Shoulder pads.
Right on brother
Exactly, the hits are 100% more dangerous than fights. CTE has been shown to be more often caused by multiple strong, little hits to the head which is way more along the lines of routine hits and checks than fighting.
Taking the physicality out of hockey will make it unrecognizable & instead it'll become figure skating!!
If banning fighting and making full cages mandatory were to make the game safer, then US NCAA hockey should not be the violent and dangerous stickwork filled brand of sport that it is.
Man I liked seeing people hitting and hurting one another, it was more entertaining.
Jhon Lewis Hitting yes, hurting no. Getting hurt is a part of almost any sport but to say that it's entertaining is awful man.
everyone should refuse to play if they have to fight in any sport.
Maybe when they held a gun to "The Animals" head to force him to play however many years ago it was they should have just pulled the trigger then, but I guess some people are in charge of other people's self control. We all die by our own hand, to one degree or another. Remember if you don't like something there's this thing called A remote control and.... R.I.P. Hoppo the Frog 💥🐸🔫
NHL is for tough men, not for soy boys.
This reminds me of science, deniers for Covid and vaccines
It has always astonished me that fighting is allowed in this one sport. There is no argument to justify it. All this enforcer stuff is BS. You don't think you can have passion in a sport and maintain respect? Look at Sumo.
physicality is the root of hockey. it's one of the only ways you can force your opponent to move the puck (as in, a check to knock them off of the puck) barring a puckhandling mistake that no professional player would ever make regularly. sometimes players can go overboard with physicality, and that's where enforcers come in. if someone takes a cheapshot at your star player, then they let them know to cut it out. fighting in recent years is a consent thing, you're not allowed to fight without both players obviously wanting to drop the gloves, and if you do then you're probably going to get suspended for a few games
@@sleepyyheadd What about football? Rugby? Soccer? Name any other physical sport. They don't tolerate fighting, and neither should hockey. It's going to be banned at some point, and it will be long, long overdue.
@@lexas1 football is a slow paced sport, there's a play made and a whistle blown as soon as the ball freezes, there's no time for any chippiness. i can't speak for rugby cause i don't know anything about it but any physicality in soccer is a joke outright as any player touched drops to the ground like they've been shot. in a fight both players know the risks. players and refs KNOW when to stop to protect players. if anything happens when a player is defenceless or unwilling then the player gets ejected, fined and suspended, so there is no tolerance for anything that isn't mano-a-mano fighting. two players get fed up with eachother, throw a few punches then go sit in the penanlty box for 5 minutes to cool down then go back on the ice like nothing happened between the two. anything with the intent to injure also will end up with disciplinary action. hockey is an inherently dangerous sport and half the time accidents are much more dangerous (clint malarchuk incident, which also ended up in a suicide attempt) than intentional fighting since players know where to draw the line. there's been so much that's happened to protect players since the 1900s.
@@sleepyyheadd Fighting with bare knuckles is not controllable. Fighting has no place in sport, it is actually the anti-thesis of sport. If you want to fight there are sports of combat governed by rules. Fighting in hockey is a disgrace to sport and a very bad example to children. As I say, it will eventually be eliminated and the sport will be better for it. That's all I have to say.
@sleepyhead pretty much nailed it. Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean they should ban it. Also, fighting IS a sport, what are you talking about? Fighting will always be a part of hockey, and it shouldn't change because "its a bad example for kids" UFC is faaaaaaaaaaar more violent than hockey. Do you want to ban the ufc or boxing? Hockey is a tough sport, but its a beautiful sport as well. There's so many great things that kids can learn from the NHL. Fighting is part of the game, get over it. Don't be so sensitive. If you want to talk about "bad example for the children" take a look at other sports like soccer of basketball, where the players embellish and fake their injuries to get awarded with whatever. Most hockey players will die before they fake an injury. Hockey players are GREAT role models for kids (except Voynov fuck that guy, and a few others, no ones perfect.) Hockey players stand up for themselves and usually don't back down. Keep hockey (reasonably) violent. sport /spôrt/ an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.
Shut up. Don't ruin the sport of hockey. All sports have their risks and dangers. That's why these players get paid millions. Fighting is part of the sport. These players are consenting adults who have the right to partake if they wish. No shit repeated blows to the head are bad. Who would have guessed?
Almost 100 people a year on average die on snowmobiles in Canada (no one seems to say much). Some ski hills report multiple deaths each year as well. Sports in general are dangerous. ...but let's get Hockey to Soccer diving cowardly levels. Let's take hitting out of the sport while we are at it. Lets find worse case scenarios to justify our means for those who like to wield some sort of power over a sport they have never played. Lots of things are dangerous. Crossing the road is dangerous. ...and Soccer will always be the most popular sport, the same way rice is the most popular food.
You have completely missed the point - Its not about the sport itself, its about the NHL being complicit in its cover-up and denying its existence because its financially advantageous.
Soccer diving??? Boy you've never watched sunday league in Europe. Those guys are amateurs and full of aggressions sometimes.
Uh oh, the weak ones ruined the NFL and are now coming after the NHL.
Let's just outlaw all the fun sports ok.
Snowflakes
I stand with Dr. Hazrati!
Were any of these hockey goons all that bright to begin with?
stopped watching as soon as I noticed it was put on By Left-wing media!