CHICAGO – Gary Bettman is a lawyer. Too often he speaks like a lawyer when he should speak as a leader. Thursday was one of those times.
The commissioner of the National Hockey League held an informal media scrum during the first intermission of Game 3 of the Western Conference final between the Anaheim Ducks and the Chicago Blackhawks. He stood at the back of the press box, surrounded by reporters, and answered questions about subjects like the salary cap.
Then he made a comment about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which Boston University researchers describe as a “progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes (and others) with a history of repetitive brain trauma, including symptomatic concussions as well as asymptomatic subconcussive hits to the head.