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Leagues and Governing Bodies

NHL Players Request More Testimony From Bettman In Wake Of Written Denial Of CTE Link

Lawyers for former NHL players who are suing the league over its handling of head injuries "want to force commissioner Gary Bettman to provide more testimony after his written denial there is an established link" between concussions and CTE, according to Rick Westhead of TSN.ca. Attorney Charles Zimmerman, who is representing the players, said that he "wants a chance to question Bettman about some of the claims he made in a letter filed this week in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis." Zimmerman said that he "plans to ask a judge to order Bettman to testify under oath about his letter." He added that lawyers for the plaintiffs "have already questioned most NHL team owners and a number of former NHL team doctors." Zimmerman: "The owners for the most part have said, ‘We don’t know anything.’ They say, ‘We don’t follow it that closely. We just go to meetings and we get information.’ They are taking the absentee owner point of view" (TSN.ca, 7/28).

POLITICAL BACKLASH: U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said that he was "not happy with what he read from Bettman" in his written response to Blumenthal's questions about the league's handling of concussions. Blumenthal: "It was very disappointing to me. To me it demonstrates dramatic indifference." Blumenthal said that he was also "put off by the clinical nature of the response" from Bettman. He said, "Whatever the language and the tone was, it expressed indifference and denial. The NFL has reacted more responsibly and seriously to the issue ... I will be pursuing this issue as we move forward. ... I am disappointed and disturbed with the legalese that seemed so dismissive" (HARTFORD COURANT, 7/28). Blumenthal added, "I was surprised and appalled, because I thought the response would be more receptive. I would’ve welcomed an acknowledgement for stronger action and a commitment to determining whether the game is causing these heartrending injuries with such painful consequences, rather than dismissing the link between hockey and CTE" (SI.com, 7/28).

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