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The concussion scapegoat

It comes to something when we are no longer surprised about the periodic news stories telling us that yet another current or retired hockey player has been found dead. Since the summer of 2011 when Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak all lost their ives to the more recent losses of Steve Montador and just this week Todd Ewen, the loss of retired hockey players has become a regular occurrence.

This is not limited to those that have played in the National Hockey League, while the news stories might fly under the radar of the mainstream press, there have been a large number of suicides of young players who played in the minors or in Europe and did not get recognition in the mainstream…

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Featured

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Articles of Interest

The Science Behind a Call for Safer Hockey

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Breaking the ice: the risks behind repetitive head trauma in Ice Hockey

Nowadays, fights are much less frequent than in previous decades but an underlying theme has risen to the surface – as a result of the repeated fights and tackles, many players suffer from concussions which may, over the years, lead to serious long term brain injuries.

Can Hockey Be Saved? The Latest on the Concussion Lawsuit

While the NFL has battled the concussion issue for years, the NHL is just beginning to realize the consequences.

Can Technology Alone Solve the “Concussion Crisis”?

What we know about brain trauma in sport can only be enhanced by accounting for the messiness of cultural experience. This process should involve embracing subjective knowledge, not as something to be eliminated or circumvented, but as an important part of this complex and rapidly changing story.

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Injuries fell by half and concussions were reduced by almost two thirds after Hockey Canada banned body checking for players younger than 13 years old, researchers say.

Controlling disease outbreaks in the National Hockey League

When we think of places for disease outbreaks, a few examples quickly come to mind: classrooms, college dorms, crowded trains. Another suggestion? The confines of the National Hockey League, where players are surrounded by literal blood, sweat, and tears.

For concerned parents, hockey is no longer the game of choice

Faced with a near daily stream of new research about the alarming and often long-term effects of concussions on youth, more and more parents are balking at hockey's dangers, which includes a significantly higher risk of attempting suicide; links to anxiety and depression; and such emotional and cognitive symptoms as disturbed sleep, difficulty concentrating, frustration and forgetfulness. Confronted with all that, parents are enrolling their children in seemingly safer sports.

Hockey Health Benefits

Hockey is a favorite game of the Swedes, but there’s more to this exciting game than the rough contact sport that meets the eye.

How the Sports Landscape in Canada Is Changing

Hockey has been Canada's dominant sport for the country's first 150 years. But sports like basketball and soccer are becoming more popular among the country's youth and will continue to grow as a result of Canada's changing demographics.

The N.H.L.’s Problem With Science

In the 1950s, tobacco companies responded to research proving a link between smoking and lung cancer by trying to discredit the science. They formed their own research group to poke holes in the data and to stave off public panic that cigarette smoking could cause serious diseases and death. More than 60 years later, the N.H.L. has responded to a class-action lawsuit regarding head injuries with a similar approach.

What’s Up With Canada’s Game: Exploring Mental Illness in Hockey

There has been a veritable avalanche of hockey memoirs published in the last few years that foreground the critically important topic of men’s mental illness. To be clear, these books are chiefly accounts of the lives of these men in professional hockey, but underlying issues such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), alcohol and substance abuse, depression, and anxiety appear as prominently in the player’s career trajectories as Fall training camp or the National Hockey League (NHL) draft.

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Resources

Top 10 Health Benefits of Hockey

When you think hockey, you think body checks, fist fights and missing teeth. But there’s so much more to hockey than the rough contact sport it’s known for.

Hockey in Society

Hockey in Society is a blog dedicated to examining the sport of hockey with a critical, inquisitive and passionate eye. While each contributor is a lifelong hockey fan, Hockey in Society is not a fan site—rather, it aims to examine important social and political issues at all levels of the sport and to explore these from a variety of critical perspectives. The blog is committed to the concept of public sociology and its application to sport.

USA Hockey

Ice hockey participation in the United States continues to increase with the expansion of youth, high school and junior programs. Opportunities for girls and women grow every year. Ice Hockey requires speed, power, and teamwork. The unique nature of the game of hockey results in specific injury patterns, some of which can be avoided.