Lawyers questioned NHL commissioner Gary Bettman under oath last month during the pretrial discovery phase of a federal suit by former NHL players who say the league inadequately informed and trained them about concussions.
Bettman's testimony is not public. But during the playoffs, the commissioner asserted, "From a medical science standpoint, there is no evidence yet" that concussion "necessarily" leads to the progressive, degenerative brain disease known as CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Experts say that while there is plenty of evidence concussions can cause CTE, Bettman's statement is literally true.
They also say, that like a good lawyer, the precision of his language, including the word "necessarily," which is the basis for a key argument in defending against the suit, simply echoes the league's legal strategy.