A not insignificant number of athletes are notorious for resisting safety changes, even ones we all accept as objectively “good” or “smart” decisions.
It took 15 years between Plante wearing a goalie mask and goalie masks becoming universally adopted.
It took 10+ years between helmets becoming mandatory and helmets being universally adopted.
It’s taken 10+ years between visors becoming mandatory and visors being universally adopted (there are still a couple stragglers).
And we can assume it will take a similarly long time between when neck guards are made mandatory and when they become universally adopted.
These are all safety advancements that are scientifically proven to reduce injuries and, in some cases, death. Even when mandatory and widely adopted, we have ample evidence that given an avenue not to, some of those directly involved do not make the smartest decision and argue against safety improvements. This is very true historically in the NHL, F1, the NBA, the NFL, etc. This does not mean all athletes are “too stupid.” But often there is a lack of education involved:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/634...-nhl-playoffs/
If players don’t have all the information, are feeling pressured, or are physically/mentally unable (due to a head injury) of making an educated decision, how are they supposed to make one?
They can be terrible about making these decisions for the reasons above. It doesn’t make them “too stupid.”