Gary Bettman might have been speaking as a lawyer as well as head of the National Hockey League this week when he said there was and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

He also might have been the NHL equivalent of an ostrich sticking his head in the sand or a climate-change denier.

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Bettman's stand certainly seems to fly in the face of medical evidence.

: CTE is a progre sive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes (and others) with a history of repetitive brain trauma, including symptomatic concu sions as well as asymptomatic subconcu sive hits to the head.

: Since the 1920s, Rashard Higgins Jersey it has been known that the repetitive brain trauma a sociated with boxing may produce a progre sive neurological deterioration, originally termed "dementia pugilistica" and more recently, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Repetitive closed head injury occurs in a wide variety of contact sports, including football, boxing, wrestling, rugby, hockey, lacro se, soccer, and skiing. Furthermore, in collision sports such as football and boxing, players may experience thousands of subconcu sive hits over the course of a single season.

: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) results from Morgan Burnett Jersey blows to the head over a period of time that cause concu sion (mild traumatic brain injury). These injuries lead to difficulties with thinking (cognition), emotions and behaviors that do not become noticeable until many years later. CTE can lead to physical problems as well. Not everyone who has one or more concu sions develops CTE.

Want to know more? Google "chronic traumatic encephalopathy" and learn.

Which might be good advice for the commi sioner of the NHL.

Here's what Bettman, who doesn't play a doctor in any public scenario, said to media members at Wednesday's Stanley Cup playoffs game in Chicago when asked about the concu sion-CTE connection.

"The fact of the matter is, Jaelen Strong Jersey from a medical and science standpoint, there is no evidence yet that one nece sarily leads to the other. I know there are a lot of theories, but if you ask the people who study it, they tell you there is no statistical correlation where they can definitively make that conclusion."

Here's the response from : In a stunningly irresponsible comment for the commi sioner of a contact sport to make in 2015, Bettman challenged the link between concu sions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. It's amazing Bettman could be heard speaking, what with his head in the sand. Even if Bettman was doing nothing more than publicly laying groundwork for an NHL legal defense, to claim with such authority that concu sions might have no connection to CTE defied logic. Even if Bettman can find scientists to support his claim, dismi sing CTE as a potential result of multiple concu sions hardly reflects a man paid well to protect the game.

Bettman's response was especially painful in Chicago, where Blackhawks fans are reeling from . Concu sions ended his NHL career. Phillip Gaines Jersey It wasn't CTE that caused his death by natural causes; Montador apparently died when his heart and lungs quiet working.

had a strong take on Montador, including this: It is not known whether Montador's well-documented history of concu sion i sues and depre sion led to his death, but his pa sing at such a young age has once again put the focus on how the NHL and the hockey world as a whole deals with concu sions.

Maybe Bettman doesn't read The Hockey News. Maybe he was caught unprepared for the question Olivier Vernon Jersey asked in Chicago. But as commi sioner and a lawyer, he certainly should be aware of numerous concu sion-related lawsuits facing not just the NHL, but all pro contact/combat sports.

He also should be aware America's most popular sport has agreed there is a concu sion-CTE connection. This, from : Where Roger Goodell and the NFL chose to avoid the legal expense and ugly publicity of a trial over his sport's role in causing chronic traumatic encephalopathy settling instead with a potential $1 billion payout Bettman sounds like he wants a fight.

William Gibbs, who is planning to Ozzie Newsome Jersey file suit against the NHL for the Montador family, :

"I presumed that he must have been misquoted because it made no sense to me. I gue s there has been no medical or scientific study saying that if you have 15 shots of whiskey and drive the wrong way down an interstate highway you're going to hurt someone. Do we need such a study to know it's dangerous? Mr. Bettman seems to be saying that there is no link between repetitive head trauma sustained during a profe sional hockey career and later in life i sues, which is shocking in this day and age."

That's Gary Bettman, lawyer and since 1993, commi sioner of the NHL.