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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman denied data and
medical research point to a direct link between hockey and the
degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
"We listen to the medical opinions on CTE, and I don't believe
there has been any documented study that suggests that elements
of our game result in CTE. There have been isolated cases of
players who have played the game [who] have had CTE. But it
doesn't mean that it necessarily came from playing in the NHL,"
Bettman said in an interview with NPR's Morning Edition.
Boston University and CTE Center research appears to contradict
Bettman. In a recently released study, the joint research data
revealed an increased chance of CTE of around 23 percent for
each additional year playing hockey.
Neuroscientist Dr. Chris Nowinksi of the Concussion Legacy
Foundation in Massachusetts, a leading researcher of CTE and
advocate for head injury awareness for athletes, responded to
Bettman's interview statements via Twitter on Wednesday.
"NHL, Gary Bettman still claim, in 2023, there is no connection
between hockey & #CTE. @NIH, @CDCgov,@NHSuk,@AFL,@PFA, and even
@NFL say otherwise. Guess which one is gaslighting the public?
Time for government intervention," he wrote.
Bettman was also pressed on giving players and team the option
of participating in NHL Pride and Inclusion nights.
"Clubs make their own decisions," he said. "To the extent that
they have Pride Nights, the elements that they put into them
have always been left up to the clubs, and it's always been left
to the players as to who wants to participate. And
overwhelmingly, our clubs and our players support Pride Night
and what it stands for. And I don't think that the notion that a
couple of players on each team or on some teams we're not
comfortable wearing pride jerseys is not an indictment. To the
contrary, you have to be tolerant of all views and all
expressions. And sometimes respect and endorsements are not the
same thing."
--Field Level Media
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