Toronto Maple Leafs: NHL enter mediation in concussion lawsuit

Fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the rest of the league watch on with interest, as the concussion lawsuit involving the NHL and former players enters mediation.

Fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the other 30 teams looked on with interest in June, when a lawsuit was filed against the NHL. As reported at the time by Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata and Siegel, the lawsuit alleged the league and its officials concealed what it knew about the long-term repercussions of head injuries sustained in hockey.

The lawsuit includes more than 100 former NHL players. In July, a class-action status was denied by federal judge Susan Richard Nelson, which would have allowed another 5,000+ former players to join the case.

Now, this week has seen a further intriguing development. As per the Associated Press, judge Nelson ordered the NHL and former players to enter into mediation in an attempt to settle the concussion lawsuit.

As far as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is concerned though, this changes nothing in respect of the league’s stance. Speaking to the Associated Press in Buffalo on Tuesday, he said:

"“The judge asked us to go into mediation and so we’re complying with the judge’s request…We also think the lawsuit doesn’t have merit.”"

Unsurprisingly, the other side doesn’t agree with Bettman’s perspective. This includes Stuart Davidson, one of the attorney’s representing the players, who explained his position to the Associated Press via email:

"“While we obviously disagree with the Commissioner’s views on the merits of these important cases, and continue to work very hard to obtain justice for our clients, the commissioner is correct that Judge Nelson requested that the parties try to work out their differences with a mediator, if they are able.”"

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This is a fascinating case and it will be interesting to see how it eventually plays out. If I’m honest, I’ve always felt there was some degree of blame on both sides.

As former quarterback Brock Huard has said on several occasions, when you’re competing in the NFL, you should at least have some awareness that you’re putting yourself at risk playing a physical game such as football. And the same applies to the NHL.

However, the flip side of this in when sports leagues are apparently aware of the extent of the risk, but choose not to share this information. And in that respect, you could certainly appreciate why athletes believe they are entitled to pursue a case for damages.

Regardless of which side of the argument you come down on, at least the NFL, NHL, etc are attempting to do more to protect the players, with concussion protocol being one of the main progressions. And while even this is still a work in process and open to criticism, you have to hope we are ultimately headed to a better place in respect of player safety in sports.

What is your take on the latest development in the NHL concussion lawsuit? How do you predict this will all play out? And what is your opinion of the concussion protocol which is now in place? is it working or not? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.