Gary Bettman Denies The Link Between Concussions And CTE

(NYTimes) — Responding to written questions from a United States senator about the effects of concussions in hockey, N.H.L. Commissioner Gary Bettman continued to deny a link between concussions and the brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E. He blamed the news media for fanning fear of the long-term effects of head injuries and defended the N.H.L.’s “more measured approach” to the growing science of concussions. C.T.E. has been diagnosed in at least six deceased N.H.L. players, along with roughly 100 former N.F.L. players. Scientists believe it is caused by repeated blows to the head. The N.H.L. is fighting a class-action lawsuit by dozens of former players who say that the league did not warn them of the long-term effects of head injuries. “The science regarding C.T.E., including on the asserted ‘link’ to concussions that you reference, remains nascent, particularly with respect to what causes C.T.E. and whether it can be diagnosed by specific clinical symptoms,” Mr. Bettman wrote. He added: “The relationship between concussions and the asserted clinical symptoms of C.T.E. remains unknown.”

I understand that comparing the NFL to the NHL is like comparing apples to little turds of shit in terms of popularity, but Gary Bettman has to look to the stars every night and thank god for giving him the gift that is Roger Goodell. As it stands today, on July 27, 2016, Roger Goodell is on the right side of history regarding concussions, or at the very least he’s straddling the fence and has one foot over here in reality, and Gary Bettman is still over there with his fingers in his ears, yelling LALALALALA. Do you know how fucking crazy you have to be to let Roger Goodell beat you over here? Crazy enough to write the sentence “the relationship between concussions and the asserted clinical symptoms of CTE remains unknown,” I guess. According to Gary Bettman it’s not repeated blows to the head that cause CTE, it’s the media coverage. That’s what makes a scary number of former athletes of violent sports end their own lives, newspapers and talking heads. The commissioner of a pro sports league actually writes that in a letter to a United States senator in 2016.

If it weren’t for Roger Goodell, Gary Bettman would be the most hated man in sports. He’s every bit as robotic. He looks like The Penguin. He’s overseen three lockouts. He doesn’t believe in science. Every time Gary Bettman steps foot into public he’s greeted by the same boos, perhaps even more ferocious even if from a smaller number of fans, that Goodell faces. Gary Bettman is the biggest motherfucker that’s affiliated with athletics not named Roger Goodell or Mark Emmert. If the NHL had 1/1000th the fan base that those two had the rest of the world would care too. See it, at least. Perhaps that’s the reason Bettman is so anti-Canadian expansion, something that makes a painful amount of sense for a hockey league, he knows if the NHL gets too popular then he’ll expose himself as the sniveling, science-denying weasel that he is. Fuck Gary Bettman.