Bettman is doing the bidding of the NHL’s 31 owners and fighting the suit with everything he can muster. It might save money in the short term, but the long term is a different story. The NFL’s case is instructive. Litigation, discovery and the power of the federal government eventually directed king football to dedicate $1 billion to the health and welfare of its former players. Bettman has this case history with which to contend. What is more, he has a peeved U.S. senator after him. It cannot end well for the NHL.
Bettman is waiting for a scientific consensus for legal reasons. Meanwhile, he is telling 4,300 former players that the league does not care about them — and, by ignoring what is known, and by making only token efforts to improve player safety, he is telling 700 current players that odds are the vast lot of them probably won’t commit suicide. It is a craven message to the sport, its athletes and its fans.
-Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch on the class-action lawsuit the NHL faces on concussions. Read more from Arace on this issue.
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