It's funny because we have Wideman testifying himself that he was purposely misleading with his woozy comment.
Quote:
I note that Mr. Wideman gave a post-game interview in which he essentially denied having been "woozy. "
Mr. Wideman testified at the hearing that he had been instructed to give a misleading answer if asked about his
condition and that he followed that instruction.
|
His own experts testified that Wideman told them he couldn't recall the event and what happened and that he was confused and not registering the event, which is contradicted by his own testimony and interviews about how he looked up and couldn't avoid contact.
Quote:
|
brief interviews with Mr. Wideman conducted several days after the incident (at a time when he was well aware that he was the subject of an imminent supplementary discipline hearing)
|
Quote:
Q. So when you said on your direct examination in response to Mr. Stoykewych's
question about whether you believe the things that Mr. Wideman told you, you said
you have to believe what your patient is telling you?
A. Correct.
Q. But Mr. Wideman wasn't your patient'?
A. That's correct.
Q. So you didn't have to believe what he told you, correct'?
A. Yeah.
Q. But you did?
A. Yes.
Q. And. . . you didn't do anything to kind of test out whether what he was telling
you might not be the case, did you?
A. That's correct.
Q. You simply accepted it at face value?
A. Yes.
|
It's pretty clear what Bettman is alluding to, and I have to agree with him here. Wideman had reason to 'play up' his concussion symptoms if that was going to be his argument and these experts didn't question it at all. They diagnosed him with a concussion and then excused his behaviour because of that. And yet, when Wideman testified himself, at least based on this decision, he doesn't appear to have had the same memory effects that he told his experts.
Quote:
it is my view that Mr. Wideman's usual capacity to exercise his
judgment and to control his impulses was significantly affected by the head trauma that he experienced
during the January 27, 2016 game for the period immediately after that incident.
|
And really I'm not sure what Wideman's defence was at this point. The concussion experts are coming and talking about concussions can affect behaviour, cause impulse controls, etc. but we're also suppose to believe that it was just an accident. He should of picked one defense and just stuck with it.