Todd Ewen had CTE (contradicting previous diagnosis from NHL expert witness)

[Aarongavey]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/s...te-hockey.html

This is an interesting read. I guess Gary will have to develop another talking point

Ewen’s wife, Kelli, was skeptical about the Toronto doctors’ conclusion and had her husband’s brain tissue tested by doctors at Boston University’s C.T.E. Center, whose findings were checked by researchers at the Mayo Clinic.

Ewen, they said Friday, did in fact have C.T.E., stoking the debate about the disease’s relationship to hockey instead of tempering it.

The new findings are likely to raise questions about how, in 2016, the doctors in Toronto missed the brain lesions that are the telltale signs of a disease that can only be diagnosed posthumously. The neuropathologist who oversaw the first test, Lili-Naz Hazrati, was an expert witness for the National Hockey League in C.T.E.-related litigation, a potential conflict of interest.

Skeptics of C.T.E. and its link to repeated head trauma used the negative diagnosis to underline the need for caution. In July 2016, Bettman, the hockey commissioner, in a letter to Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, cited Ewen’s case to blame the news media for getting ahead of the science on the long-term effects of head injuries.

Someone should ask Gary his thoughts on climate change

But in a declaration related to the N.H.L. concussion case, in which the league was sued by more than 100 former players, Hazrati said she had billed the league for $25,000, which she said was donated to a foundation at the hospital where she works. (The league and plaintiffs announced a settlement on Nov. 12.)

A spokesman for the hospital said Hazrati later decided to work pro bono for the N.H.L. and had not been compensated.

They should really figure out if she got paid by the NHL or not

“I do not believe enough research has been performed to date to show that C.T.E. is a slowly progressive neurodegenerative disease, nor do I believe that the current research can explain the relationship between head impacts and pathology or head impacts and the symptoms described in the current C.T.E. literature,” she wrote in a declaration in April 2017.

Hard to believe this statement by Hazrati will age well.

[dirk diggler]

ran into Todd Ewen many years ago at 3 cheers. really nice guy

[cam_wmh]

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl-and-todd-ewen...ords-1.1551069

[Erick Estrada]

Not sure how you can blame Bettman here. He's not the neuropathologist that made the declaration that Ewen didn't have CTE. Sounds like some shady business going on with the wife and those texts that she won't disclose. On one hand they are saying he randomly committed suicide due to CTE while on the other they are saying they had an argument that day but she won't disclose the texts.

[Samonadreau]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Not sure how you can blame Bettman here. He's not the neuropathologist that made the declaration that Ewen didn't have CTE. Sounds like some shady business going on with the wife and those texts that she won't disclose. On one hand they are saying he randomly committed suicide due to CTE while on the other they are saying they had an argument that day but she won't disclose the texts.

Bettman may not be to blame for the initial findings and stances but if the new findings and diagnose are true then they need to change their stance regardless of any private text messages on any cell phones.

[Samonadreau]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Not sure how you can blame Bettman here. He's not the neuropathologist that made the declaration that Ewen didn't have CTE. Sounds like some shady business going on with the wife and those texts that she won't disclose. On one hand they are saying he randomly committed suicide due to CTE while on the other they are saying they had an argument that day but she won't disclose the texts.

Double Post

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Not sure how you can blame Bettman here. He's not the neuropathologist that made the declaration that Ewen didn't have CTE. Sounds like some shady business going on with the wife and those texts that she won't disclose. On one hand they are saying he randomly committed suicide due to CTE while on the other they are saying they had an argument that day but she won't disclose the texts.

Do you think the argument precludes the possibility that he had CTE?

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Do you think the argument precludes the possibility that he had CTE?

He was also 49 years old and played 100's of very rough games outside of the NHL and probably had concussions as far back as junior hockey, it amazes me that all these enforcers blame the NHL for concussions years after retirement yet I would bet every one of them would take the chance again to get the fame and fortune that come with it.

Todd lived 18 years after retirement, to blame CTE on his depression and suicide is somewhat obtuse IMO.

This is about money

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

He was also 49 years old and played 100's of very rough games outside of the NHL and probably had concussions as far back as junior hockey, it amazes me that all these enforcers blame the NHL for concussions years after retirement yet I would bet every one of them would take the chance again to get the fame and fortune that come with it.

Todd lived 18 years after retirement, to blame CTE on his depression and suicide is somewhat obtuse IMO.

This is about money

The NHL should make that legal argument then, concede that they created a workplace that resulted in these players getting CTE but point out that these players would do it all again. Not sure why they deny that they created a workplace that resulted in longterm post employment injuries. Just say it in court and let the judge decide.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Do you think the argument precludes the possibility that he had CTE?

No but you put a bullseye on Gary for some strange reason. It's like blaming Roger Goodell in the NFL concussion settlement. They are just figureheads for the league. Gary Bettman wasn't even working for the NHL when Ewen likely got his first concussion. This is being handled by several high paid lawyers as with any large business they are going to protect their interests and the league can't simply admit to anything without causing an avalanche of lawsuits that would cripple the league and possibly put it out of business. You see a lot of fans complaining about today's hockey pining for the days of goons and headhunters. Blame hockey culture if you want or the people running the league in the 70's and 80's that didn't care about player safety but blaming Gary Bettman is simply misguided.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

The NHL should make that legal argument then, concede that they created a workplace that resulted in these players getting CTE but point out that these players would do it all again. Not sure why they deny that they created a workplace that resulted in longterm post employment injuries. Just say it in court and let the judge decide.

From the time a player hit's his teens they start hitting and fighting and the game of hockey is all over the world, why would the NHL concede they created the problem?

[StrangeADT]

Without the big money in the NHL do you honestly believe near as many people would pursue hockey as a career? The NHL spends a ton of money marketing, has broadcasters showing their games to large audiences, etc. If you perpetuate the sport, and in particular emphasize the physicality of it, then of course you’re still partially responsible for what happens in the minor leagues. Ridiculous argument.

[Beatle17]

Originally Posted by StrangeADT

Without the big money in the NHL do you honestly believe near as many people would pursue hockey as a career? The NHL spends a ton of money marketing, has broadcasters showing their games to large audiences, etc. If you perpetuate the sport, and in particular emphasize the physicality of it, then of course you’re still partially responsible for what happens in the minor leagues. Ridiculous argument.

Then I guess we should blame F1, Indy Car and NASCAR for all the deaths from bad driving by people.

[Kipper_3434]

Originally Posted by Beatle17

Then I guess we should blame F1, Indy Car and NASCAR for all the deaths from bad driving by people.

How is an example with one slight similarity supposed to be a direct comparison? As far as I can tell there aren't many ex race car drivers with brain injuries killing themselves years after their career. Try to stay on subject. This isn't about whether or not hockey is dangerous, it's about whether or not the nhl took reasonable steps to protect their players. Did they treat injuries as best they could with the knowledge they had?

A better example would have been boxing or rugby. Not effing racecar circuits.

[Beatle17]

Originally Posted by Kipper_3434

How is an example with one slight similarity supposed to be a direct comparison? As far as I can tell there aren't many ex race car drivers with brain injuries killing themselves years after their career. Try to stay on subject. This isn't about whether or not hockey is dangerous, it's about whether or not the nhl took reasonable steps to protect their players. Did they treat injuries as best they could with the knowledge they had?

A better example would have been boxing or rugby. Not effing racecar circuits.

No it wouldn't according to what I was responding to, the original comment talked about how the league was marketed and attracts young men to play the game. If you see the physical part of the game and make a decision to pursue the career you personally take on some responsibility to learn of the consequences. For any athlete since 1990 to say they didn't know then they are not telling the truth. Quit blaming the league when the majority of these tough guys learn early in junior that they don't have the skill to play at the next level and make a decision to fight their way to a paycheque.

So the NHL marketing itself that way is no different than the racing companies that are always marketing the crashes and everything else, if that excitement attracts you then that decision is on you. Why is it in society now that nobody wants to take personal responsibility for their own decisions.

[Sylvanfan]

Todd Ewans NHL career went from 1986 to 1997. He had about 3.4 million in reported gross career earnings. His last 2 years account for nearly half of it. A good living, but when he got into the league he's making a touch over 6 figures. Even in those days that's not an extravagant amount of money.

The notion that the NHL marketed a violent game with the promise of a huge fortune to huge audiences when he was a kid....I am a skeptic on that. Sure the league culture was that way, and for any bigger kid the mantra that you need to fight was true.

But I believe that fame and popularity at lower ranks for may have been as much of a draw especially for a teen ager. I lived in Junior Hockey cities in the 90's....in some cases the team goon was as popular with fans as any other player. Junior teams no doubt relied on the big Friday night fight to get butts in the seats. These teams actively recruited bigger tougher kids solely to fill that role.

Today I don't know if that's sold in Junior hockey the same way it was in those days. I don't really follow Junior Hockey that way anymore. I don't think it is with some of the rules the OHL has plus the NHL is also moving away from the fighting and big hits too.

In 1982 when Todd "The Animal" Ewan is collecting 250 pins in junior did the same research and knowledge on concussions and CTE exist? I don't think so. Each passing year more is learned on the subject. The NHL certainly is more aware today than they were. When defending themselves, like any legal case they likely sought someone to present an angle that suits their interest. The statement at the time may have been that doctors belief even if the belief was half hearted.

[homestand]

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/...2020-1.5806249

Start listening at 47:00

And author and journalist Rick Westhead tells us the story of Joe Murphy, the former Edmonton Oilers player who went from winning the Stanley Cup to living homeless. Westhead says Murphy's story is part of a bigger part of brain injury and mental illness that the National Hockey League needs to address.