Column: By promoting fighting, neither side has much ground to stand on in NHL concussion suit

For a preview of what evidence on Day 1 of an NHL concussions trial might look like, head over to YouTube, type in "NHL brawls" and take your pick of any of the 481,000 choices offered there.

In a league where both sides give a wink to bare-fisted fighting — and in a case in which raw emotion could play as big a role as the still-developing science of concussions — it will be hard for either the players or the NHL to claim the moral high ground.



Meanwhile, the NHL has promised a vigorous defense. It claims to have been well ahead of the pack when it comes to mitigating head injuries. And, in fact, when compared to other pro leagues — especially the NFL, which spent decades pushing off legitimate scientific research in the face of compelling evidence — the NHL could be considered a trendsetter.

In 1997, the NHL joined its players' union and team medical staffs to create a concussion working group. The league was the first to bring baseline testing into play to better diagnose concussions. It was the first to create "quiet rooms" where a test could quickly be given after violent head contact. In 2010, it began penalizing and suspending players who targeted an opponent's head.


Commissioner Gary Bettman recently called fighting a "thermostat" that helps cool things down when tensions get high.

"We can all hurt someone every shift if we want to," said 43-year-old right wing Teemu Selanne of the Anaheim Ducks, who recently lost several teeth when inadvertently hit in the face with a stick. "The players are so strong, so fast. There has got to be a lot of intelligence involved in this game."



But even he admits there's some merit to hockey's on-ice justice system, saying, "There is some truth to the statement that the players need to be able to police themselves."










"He was there protecting his teammates at all costs," Boogaard's mother said on the day the lawsuit was filed. "But who was there to protect him?"

The correct answer: Nobody.


