Demand for Gary Bettman's firing after shocking report
NHL agent Allan Walsh has publicly derided commissioner Gary Bettman over a rejection of a potential correlation between the league and deaths that have been attributed in part to Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
In an interview with comcussion specialist Chris Nowinski, Walsh derided Bettman's denial that the league shares a connection to CTE, found after a player's death, and after a life of severe neurological issues associated.
CTE, a known degenerative brain disease, has been cited as a factor in the deaths of many athletes who have been involved in contact sports in which injuries involving the brain can occur. CTE can also mimic some symptoms of Dementia, including memory loss and sporadic behavioral changes.
Reports on CTE first came to prominence in the 2000s when Dr. Bennet Omalu, a pathologist at the University of Pittsburgh published articles after having investigated the deaths of NFL players who had been found to have suffering from the disease at the time of their deaths.
A 2018 study from Boston University found that repeated hits to the head, as opposed to severe concussions, appeared the most likely cause behind the disease, which can cause physical and physiological impairments, and many athletes found to have the disease have died from suicide.
2011 was marked with tragedies in hockey as along with the deadly plane crash carrying the KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl that claimed the lives of 45 people, including 26 players. As well were the deaths of enforcers Rick Rypien, Wade Belak & Derek Boogard.
Boogard died at the age of 28 after a mixture drug and alcohol overdose. Boogard had been suffering from a concussion since 2010. At the same time, Boogard had been dealing with substance abuse issues, having gone into rehabilitation for a dependency on painkillers. An autopsy done on Boogard found signs of CTE. Boogard, one of the league's most brutal fighters, recieved multiple blows to the head in his physical hockey player, a style of play honed even before the NHL level.
The Boston University CTE Center in a report published after an examination of Boogard's brain found his severity to be "more advanced than most other athletes of similar age with CTE".
An investigation was opened into potential league culpability in Boogard's death, his family accusing the league of failing to subdue his addiction while not complying with his rehabilitation process. A wrongful death lawsuit dismissed by a federal judge in 2017.
In recent years, multiple other former NHLers, many being enforcers, have been found to have been suffering from CTE at the time of their deaths after an autopsy.
The death of former enforcer Steve Montador in 2015 rejuvenated calls for a league investigation into a potential link between CTE and brain injuries caused from hockey. Greg Johnson was found to have CTE in 2024, five years after his death from suicide. Post-enforcer era NHLers such as Henri Richard & Stan Mikita.
Other sports have dealt with CTE as an issue, most prominently the NFL. Former NFL tight end Aaron Hernandez was found to have had CTE after his death by suicide while serving a prison sentence for murder, his CTE one of the worst cases of the disease found in a young athlete.
The NHL has denied CTE has a link between brain injuries suffered and the sport, both repeated by commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly.
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Do you believe Gary Bettman should still be the NHL commissionaire? | ||
| Yes | 71 | 13.4 % |
| No | 457 | 86.6 % |
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