Although their private email conversations about concussions are now publicly available, National Hockey League officials are remaining tight-lipped on the issue.
Catalyzed by the unsealing of hundreds of court documents, the league is facing mounting criticism -- and a pending lawsuit -- over its handling of on-ice concussions.
Read all the emails at the bottom of this story.
Still, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has remained silent despite repeated requests for comment. When approached by 麻豆传媒 in New York on Thursday, Bettman had little to say.
"As I鈥檝e said repeatedly, we're in the middle of litigation,鈥� Bettman said. 鈥淐ourt is the right place to have this discussion."
Some, though, have been speaking up for years. Neurosurgeon Charles Tator has examined the brains of former NHLers, and warns of the effects of repeated blows to the head.
A career of hard hits, Tator says, can have a lasting effect on a player.
"The evidence is getting stronger by the day that we can connect the dots between repetitive blows and degeneration of the brain in hockey players."
鈥楾oo many so-called experts鈥�
In 2011, fans couldn鈥檛 avoid the issue when the game鈥檚 biggest star, Sidney Crosby, was forced to miss most of the season with a concussion and post-concussion symptoms. The Pittsburgh Penguins centre was held out for almost 15 months of play after two big hits to the head in two consecutive games.
But officials still weren鈥檛 interested in hearing from specialists, email exchanges reveal.
"I am sick and tired of all these other Think Tanks WITH reputable people just blaming it on the NHL..." wrote Colin Campbell, vice president of NHL hockey operations, in December of 2011.
On the same day, fellow VP Kris King shared similar sentiments, specifically naming Tator as an example.
鈥淚 do agree we are now at the point where we as a group must do all we can to 'beat this up' and not with the Charles Tators of the world, just Hockey people as you have stated."
Senior VP of NHL hockey operations Mike Murphy responded, lamenting input from those who hadn鈥檛 played at a professional level.
"I'm a strong believer we are 'over doctored'... too many so called experts weighing in who have never been on the field of play,鈥� Murphy wrote. 鈥淚 think we have enhanced our problem by listening to all these experts."
Neurosurgeon and concussion specialist Neilank Jha said the NHL and other professional sports leagues have been mismanaging the problem for years.
鈥淪ince 2011, from the emails we can see,鈥� Jha said. 鈥淭hey can do a much better job. They need stronger leadership. They need to be more accountable to the players -- the current ones, the past ones, as well as the kids coming up.鈥�
According to league records, 2011 was the worst year ever for concussions. It wasn鈥檛 just specialists sounding off about the dangers of brain injuries.
In October of 2011, Nashville鈥檚 Mike Fisher was knocked out of a game by a legal hit, causing Predators鈥� part-owner Tom Cigarran to write to Bettman, demanding action.
"I intend to bring this up at every owners meeting until changes are made,鈥� wrote Cigarran.
鈥淓nough is enough."
TSN Senior Corespondent Rick Westhead
