Boogaard Lawsuit Could Be the First Step Toward a Fight Ban in the NHL
By Ken Reed
The NFL is facing major concussion-related litigation in the coming months. The NHL might not be far behind.
The family of former NHL enforcer Derek Boogaard has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NHL, claiming the NHL was grossly negligent on multiple fronts. In particular, the Boogaard family’s lawyers claim the NHL failed to warn NHL players about the dangers of concussions, most notably the dangers of playing through concussions.
The lawsuit could be the impetus for additional lawsuits filed on behalf of former players suffering from the aftereffects of brain trauma incurred while playing hockey.
It could also eventually lead to fighting being banned once and for all in the NHL. (Can you believe that in 2013 we’re still talking about whether or not fighting should be banned in hockey?)
Thomas Demetrio, a lawyer representing the Boogaard family said, “This League needs to adapt and change so that a preventable tragedy like this never happens again. This lawsuit will unearth the failed policies that have led to the demise of so many NHL Fighters and bring to light the need for meaningful change in the NHL so that families, like the Boogaards, can rest easier knowing that their loved ones are safe.”
Here’s hoping this Boogaard suit ends up carrying that kind of clout.
* * *
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the concussion front, Patrick Hruby has written an excellent piece about the NFL curiously keeping discredited doctor, Elliot Pellman, in the fold. You may recall that Pellman, who at one time headed up the leagues committee on concussions, once said concussions in professional football “are not serious injuries,” and that “many [concussed] players can be safely allowed to return to play on the day of injury.” Pellman continues to advise the NFL on medical issues.
Just when you think the NFL is slowly crawling out of its cave on the brain trauma issue you read an excellent piece like Hruby’s.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
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Episode #27 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Kids’ Sports: How We Can Take Back the Game and Restore Quality Family Time In the Process – Linda Flanagan is author of “Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids’ Sports and Why It Matters.” We discuss how commercialized and professionalized youth sports are hurting kids and their families.
Episode #26 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: How Can We Fix Youth Sports? – John O’Sullivan is Founder and CEO of Changing the Game Project and author of “Changing the Game: The Parents Guide to Raising Happy, High Performing Athletes and Giving Youth Sports Back to Our Kids.”
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Media
"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- Reed Appears on Ralph Nader Radio Hour League of Fans’ sports policy director, Ken Reed, Ralph Nader and the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner discussed a variety of sports issues on Nader’s radio show as well as Reed’s updated book, How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan. Reed's book was released in paperback in February, and has a new introduction and several updated sections.
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Vanderbilt Sport & Society - On The Ball with Andrew Maraniss with guest Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director for League of Fans and author of How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
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