Quote:
Originally Posted by JiriHrdina
I can't recall the interview, but was listening to one where the ex-player was basically saying players now know the protocol and how to answer questions to allow themselves to get back on the ice.
It is a deep problem in the culture. The athletes still think they need to shake off the cob webs and get back out there. Long-term consequences be damned. And the league and teams allow this because they are trying to win.
I give gobs of credit to guys like Jon Cornish and Dmitri Tsoumpas who have the strength to retire early to retain their brain matter.
In some ways I think non football sports are even further behind because it is perceived to be less physical.
And this is where I also think the NHLPA is an utter failure.
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They have spotters and trainers who should be able to see if a guy is woozy. You can't leave it on the players because their instinct is always going to be play on (and this isn't an NHL only issue, basically any sport and at any level very few people will take themselves out unless they physically can't continue).
Its on the spotters and trainers for not pulling the guy and getting the full testing done.
A similar (although a ton worse) situation happened in the NFL this year where this guy was clearly knocked loopy but no one pulled him out -