Probert’s Brain

By Ethan Rabidoux

Former NHL tough guy Bob Probert’s brain has been studied. It was discovered that he suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy when he died.

Naturally, this has revived the debate over fighting in hockey since Probert was a legendary brawler.

Check out this article:

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/brain+hammers+message+home/4382994/story.html

This article points out that, aside from fighting, Probert also abused drugs and alcohol which probably didn’t help anything.

But the bigger point in this article comes from Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault. He says he’s more concerned about injuries from hitting than from fighting.

Players are far more likely to get scrambled by a hard, physical check along the boards than from a fist fight on the ice.

Don Cherry has weighed in on the issue offering up his criticism of the equipment hockey players now wear. They may as well have on body armour.

Cherry specifically cited the massive shoulder pads players now wear as the cause of the concussions. They are rock hard and enable the players to bulldoze through each other.

Ironically, it’s akin to the introduction of the boxing glove in the late 1800s. It was designed to prevent injuries but all it did was make the fighters more willing to hit to the head since their knuckles were now more protected.

I do think the occasional hockey fight adds some excitement to an already exciting sport and I don’t buy for one second that Probert’s brain damage was from throwing fists.

The issue of concussions in the NHL is far more complicated than a simple ban on fighting.

This also isn’t an issue only in hockey. Boxing, football and even professional wrestling have grappled with brain injuries far worse and far more often than the NHL.

Check out this video The Fifth Estate did on Chris Benoit. Start watching it at the 2:25 mark. It goes in-depth about the problem of concussions in wrestling and football.

You can bet this also applies to hockey and banning fighting will barely make a dent in the problem.

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