Brutality

on Ice: Cover-Ups for the Sake of Image & Profit

By Jane Gilgun

Summary The National Hockey League refuses to ban fighting on the ice despite mounting evidence that blows to the head can cause degenerative brain injuries and death. This article shows that leagues cover-up of the dangers of fighting is similar to the Roman Catholic Churchs and Penn States cover-ups. The issue is reputation. Penn State and the Catholic Church sacrificed children to protect their reputations and probably to protect their assets as well. The hockey league is doing the same thing. Their reputation is about being tough. Hockey is a bloody sport. Fans love it. How will fans look at hockey if players dont slug it out? The thrill is gone. So are the profits. About the Author Jane F. Gilgun, Ph.D., LICSW, is a professor, School of Social Work, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, USA. Professor Gilgun does research on the meanings of violence to perpetrators, the development of violent behaviors, and how persons overcome adversities. See Professor Gilguns other articles, books, and childrens stories on Kindle, iBooks, & scribd.com

Brutality on Ice: Cover-Ups for the Sake of Image & Profit

ere we go againanother cover-up, this time in professional hockey. The NHL hockey commissioner and the commissioners medical advisor have said there is not enough evidence to ban fighting in hockey. Those with no vested interest in hockeys image as a bloody sport say there is. At its core, the cover-up in hockey is no different from the cover-ups that the Roman Catholic Church and Penn State have done in regard to child sexual abuse. These two institutions sacrificed the welfare of children for their own reputations. With hockey, reputation may be at stake, too. Take the fighting out of hockey, and what do you have? A bunch of wimps on ice? Is that the fear? Or is the fear that profits will fall off? The hockey commissioner and his hired medical advisor are sacrificing the health and even the lives of hockey players for image and profit. The bigger the brawl, the louder the roar of the crowd. The bigger the profits to hockey, too. Some Background Derek Boogard, a hockey player called an enforcer for his brutality on ice, died last spring of a drug overdose. An autopsy showed that Boogard had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is associated with brain trauma. Dr. Ruben Echemendia, the advisor to the hockey commissioner, said, My perspective is, we should not make wholesale changes until we have more than opinion and speculation. That is his assessment of medical evidence and opinion. Medical professionals with no connection to hockey disagree. We in science can dot the line between blows to the head, brain degeneration, and all of these other issues, Dr. Charles Tator said. Tator is a neurosurgeon and researcher at the Toronto Western Hospital. He is the director of programs that seek to reduce spinal cord and brain injuries in sports. So in my view, its time for the leagues to acknowledge this serious issue and take steps to reduce blows to the brain, Tator said. For Tator, this includes banning fighting in hockey games. Boogard was 27 when he died of a drug and alcohol overdose. At 6 feet 8 inches tall and burly, Boogard was a fearsome fighter on ice, delivering severe blows to heads and faces and receiving them in return. Poor judgment and addictions are signs of CTE.

 A Minority Opinion in Hockey Circles Some with connections to hockey point out the advantages of a ban on fighting. Dr. Michael Stuart, on the staff of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said, If we truly want to make every effort to reduce risk of concussion in the sport of ice hockey, we should eliminate fighting. Stuart is an orthopedic surgeon and the chief medical officer for USA Hockey, which is the governing body of ice hockey in the United States. USA Hockey has no vested interest in the profit side of hockey. Discussion Blows to the head result in concussion. Repeated concussion leads to death of brain cells. Death of brain cells is brain injury. Brain injury can lead to dementia. Dementia associated with blows to the head during sports is called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Which dots dont connect? The dots that connect brain injury to fighting on ice to macho reputation to profits to callous disregard for the welfare of hockey players. References Gilgun, Jane F. (2010). Neurobiology and social work: A primer. http://www.scribd.com/doc/19806869/Neurobiology-Social-Work-A-Primer Gilgun, Jane F. (2011). Theory and case study research. http://www.scribd.com/doc/48231895/Theory-and-Case-Study-Research Gilgun, Jane F. (2011). Yes, they are: The generalizability of case study research. http://www.scribd.com/doc/56168782/Yes-They-Are-The-Generalizability-of-Case- Studies Klein, Jeff Z. (2011). No medical consensus about fighting. New York Times, December 13, B11, B12.