Lawsuits & Legal Matters

The arguments are valid on both sides of this issue. I'm all for a wealthy owner paying back, since they benefit tremendously from the players. Yes, the players do make a shit tonne of money (in a lot of cases), but the windfall comparison between the two is not really there. It's going to come down to whether or not the players' attorneys can find a witness that will testify to the league knowing about the risks and staying mum about it. If that isn't possible, then I don't see how the players can win this fight, individually or in class-action.

 

Sounds like a guy who is pissed off that some of todays players are making what he did in his entire NHL career and now he is trying to get his share after the fact. Bernie made a total of 9.8 million in his 17 year career. Todays players, some of lesser talent are making 4 to 5 million a year. I have no sympathy for Athletes who now complain about head injuries caused by the sport they played. If they were worried about their health then they had the money to seek an outside doctor if they didn't like the diagnoses of the team doctors.

 

I absolutely agree.

If the league didn't actively/knowingly withhold information from the players, the players deserve nothing. \

 

regardless of what the players want or get, there should be more money invested in to research and technology.

 

They have team docs. I would think that's at the heart of the issue.

If they use their own doc to get a diagnosis, they might still have to use a team doc or insurance doc to validate an injury. I'm not sure how it works for players, but I'm willing to bet Alexander Semin can't go out and use I. B. Shadee M.D. to get put on IR and collect his insurance payouts or team payouts.

 

http://www.beam.vt.edu/helmet/helmets_hockey.php

i meant to add this ^ in. and its about more than just the helmets. get rid of the armor elbow pads.

 

And this is why I'm not a fan of the entire sport on this issue, none of them give a shit to do this.

Yeah, they do their little grab ass headline grabbing moves, akin to NFL "awareness" campaigns, but hockey from the CHL, USHL, NCAA, NHL, etc. have done a whole lot of nothing to get to the bottom of this.

It's part of the reason I side with players on health issues. The players are young and stupid (I can relate to stupid), the owners can do more than they do, rather easily, but they would rather just keep sending out the players to get pounded as they cash checks. One side definitely has an edge on the other in terms of exploits, especially after the last 2 CBAs.

 

Here is my problem. We all know toady the effects of concussions, but was it really know in 1990? How 'bout 2000? I found one article dated 5 May 2000 stating they were just learning about a long term effect of concussion. If the scientific community was just learning about concussions in 2000, then how can the league possibly know what the long term effects were or could be? http://brainconnection.brainhq.com/2000/05/05/the-impact-of-contact-sports/

 

You are 100% right on this. Couldn't agree more. They need to invest more into this. Directly affects the current and future game.

 

he was actually the BU men's doc during Jack Parker's reign of terror.

 

But another doctor outside of the team doctor could consult with the team doctor and tell him what his diagnosis is. Team doctors are usually Orthopedic doctors to take care of broken bones, torn muscles, knee injuries etc. So if a neurosurgeon was to call you can bet an orthopedic doctor would listen.

 

That's the big question.

The league is going to shrug their shoulders and say "we didn't know". Gary did that during the playoffs

The players have to find out that docs told them there was risk and the NHL decided to ignore, withhold, or cover up the information.

 

It's easy to say the sports team didn't give a crap here in 2015 about teams in the 80's 90's and early 2000's or even the 60's and 70's. Today a ton of research is being done on the subject but it wasn't that way earlier. And yes I have no problem with the owners making money. They don't do this just for the fun of the sport or the fan.

 

Bob love your insight on hockey and general discussion, But you and I are just going to agree to disagree on the leagues stance. Players have individual responsibilities to themselves and their family. I'm tired of this blaming someone else for my problem nonsense. We see players ignore doctors advise all the time playing in the cup finals with broken bones, torn muscles etc. Yet, we are quick to blame the teams if the player said he was playing with a concussion. Past history tells me these players would play no matter what the doctor told them and if a player says he is ready to play, who is the coach or the league going to listen to, especially in the 70's 80's 90's and early 2000's. The league is now enforcing a concussion rule and listening to doctors instead of players now that the studies have come out and the damaging effects it has on a player long term. So I put a lot of the blame on the player because I know back in those days the player would override a doctor and the team had no reason not to listen to the player.

 

for every guy that is making $1m+ per year there are a hundred riding busses around the world as non NHL pro players. some probably don't even have doctors.
not sure where Im going w/ this but the NHL has most of the money and the power for the entire sport to follow. I don't think this is just an NHL thing, its an entire sport thing and the NHL has the ability to help more than any other organization.

 

It's easy to say because its true.
PAs didn't spring up just because of pay, that's why there are decades worth and dozens of CBAs with medical/health language written into them.

I wasn't talking about the owners either, all of hockey would rather sit back than take real big strides to solve the single biggest hurdle the game (not the NHL) is facing moving forward.

 

Hockey, like football, would rather sit on its arse and get surprised when regions start walking away from the sport as its being played now. We won't see it in the states much because of the low profile, but its just a matter of time before Canada starts feeling it a little bit.

 

I believe hockey numbers are already declining in Canada.

 

I hear ya. The debate is all in fun. This is one of the few times I side with players, but I still don't like most of the elements of the lawsuit, or even most of the players involved themselves. When all is said and done, the NHL may have been in the right. If they told the PA everything they knew, with reasonable effort, I don't find fault with the league.

I'm not taking exception to what you say the players do, I agree overall, they don't care about their health in my opinion.

My opinion is that its okay to blame somebody if they knowingly did something exploitative at the cost of somebody's well being. I thought I would try to clarify, some of the thoughts seemed to be overlapping and separate issues.

 

obviously, if the league lied, covered up, etc - they are cuplable. but until i see something specific to support that claim, this looks like "it's their fault cuz, well, like they shoulda seen the future."

and so should your parents, your friends, coaches in school, every fan of the sport...

also, i think ESPN should absolutely be joined as a co-defendant for glorifying moments when someone gets JACKED UP.

fuck it. sue society as a whole, why doncha.

and bob, i didn't click on your link, cuz that's a personal pet peeve of mine, and you're preaching to the choir there. but i do thank u for reminding me that i forgot to comment on this earlier. a hockey helmet protects against lacerations and fractures, not concussions. it would have helped ace bailey.