I am not a hockey fan, but I listen to / watch ESPN a lot.
The latest news is that his agent is “optimistic” that he will return this season from his concussion symptoms and now a neck injury. I for one am terrified for this kid’s future. He’s missed so many, many games already due to concussion. Should he just try to protect himself and retire?
Joe
Huge NO! At least, not if he doesn’t want to. He’s only 24. He has at least 10 years to play more. And since he’s so talented, he can take years off and still be NHL quality.
He’s not going to play unless himself and the best available concussion experts says it okay for him to do so. If they do, what is the real harm?
I went with maybe so, because I don’t know the medical particulars(and probably aren’t qualified to really understand the percentages anyway). Pro players, especially ones who have been celebrated and famous their whole lives aren’t always the best judges of their own limitations. They often think they they are just good enough to make it work. With a knee or ankle, sure go ahead, give it your best, if you ignore the doctors you will have a limp. But a head injury is a serious thing, and the consequences can build in the background over time. Trying to come back may cause irreversible harm to him in a few years.
If you’re going to make Sid retire, it would only be fair to make anyone else with a concussion retire. How many is that - apparently concussion victoms vary from but from this article:
“NHL regular season game concussion rates decreased from a peak of 7.7 concussions per 100 players during the 2000-2001 season to 4.9 per 100 players in 2003-2004.”
So for about the 700 players on 30 teams you’re going to loose about 35-56 players a year. About 2 teams lost every season.
These days the players know the risks. But the rewards isn’t something to snicker at either. Where else does a 25 year old guy make millions per year. Its up to them I say.
But I’m all for doing things to reduce the risk of concussions for everyone. No more fighting - sure. Bigger ice, sure. Even very simple steps like reducing the hardness of shoulder pads would help many. But these are grown men who can decide themselves when to retire.
Slow hockey week that broadcasters are dragging this up.
It’s up to him, and I’m not a doctor.
That said, I think it obvious that as long as it has been they’re rushed the process. AFTER all this, and after his team started making noises about being disappointed in his not being back, they find there’s an injury to his vertebra. How did Pittsburgh’s presumably well-paid sports physicians miss it?
They’d be well advised to simply write him off for a year yet and let him recover properly, and see where he is a year from now.
Not really a matter of forcing everyone with a concussion to retire. Some people just handle them worse than others. At this point, Sid has suffered a handful of concussions including two in rapid succession. He missed a chunk of last season with post concussion symptoms and is racking up the games in this year. Then there’s the rash of deaths this off season possibly linked to concussions. The long term damage (emotional problems, chronic pain, memory loss, light sensitivity) that comes from repeated concussions. He may have a couple of years left on his career, but it could trash the rest of his life.
I certainly think that the decision should be left up to him (as much as it can be under the circumstances), but personally speaking I can think of a lot more reasons for him to retire than to stay. I voted “maybe so.”
The problem is that we are in our infancy in determining the long-term effects of repetitive brain damage. Given that he is young, healthy, and may emerge from this string of concussions “relatively” symptom free, he should seriously consider retiring young and being involved in the game in another way.
There is no clear-cut proof yet that repetitive head trauma (e.g., concussion) leads to CTE, but the evidence is pretty frightening…
If I was him, I would in a heartbeat. Unless he has been an utter fool, he should have more money than he’ll ever spend. Why risk permanent debilitating injury?
Because he enjoys playing hockey?
I like playing computer games but if I knew that my next game might give me an injury that would mean I wouldn’t recognize my own children, I’d stop this minute.
Are you widely recognized as the best computer game player in the world? Have you invested and trained tens of thousands of hours to be such a good video game player?
Any player could potentially get a mind sucking concussion, be paralyzed or die playing hockey each and every game. NHL players hit hard, sometime hit dirty and few players get through their careers without some kind of injury. Sid’s risk may not even be that much higher once he’s taken adequate time off to heal. The science on concussions is just not clear enough to make accurate armchair judgements.
There is no amount of brain trauma that is good for the brain, and that is backed up by science.
However, when the threshold for sustaining a concussion decreases, and the severity and duration of symptoms increases, there doesn’t need to be a scientific algorithm to say “time to hang up the skates”
The recent reports are saying that he had an undiagnosed broken vertebrae in his neck that was causing his symptoms to reoccur. (And yes, the Pens organization are furious).
IF this is the case, and it’s not another concussion, and he’s fully healthy, why should he be forced to retire? He’s the best hockey player of his generation, he loves the game, he’s a future HOF-er. I may be biased as a Pens fan, but I really, really want Sidney to fully heal and come back.
He’s the second greatest player the Penguins have ever had.
The game itself needs to make some changes, yes. But it’s way too soon for Sid to just up and retire. He shouldn’t just rush back, no. But retire? No, I don’t think so.
(Although if he does at this time, he could always make a come back in a few years, ala Mario)
I’m not sure what he should do but I hope he decides based on polls on the internet instead of consulting doctors and talking to family. :smack:
You’re at lest the second person who has said something like this. Where in the OP do I say anything about anyone being forced to do anything?
Joe
Who hired the frigging doctors? Maybe the Penguins should take some responsibility for the health of their players.
Should the Penguins have KNOWN in advance, that said doctors would fuck up? I’m guessing that the fuck-ups won’t be working for the organization for long.
I am confused… wouldn’t the force required to sustain a broken vertebrae be enough to sustain a concussion. Wouldn’t it would be impossible to identify the cause of concussion-related symptoms and attribute them to a concussion vs. a neck/spinal injury. Regardless of the cause, he has symptoms of post-concussion syndrome, having sustained another concussion shortly after a returning from a long time away from contact.
This begs the question: how does a broken vertebrae change his long-term prognosis and risk for another concussion/spinal injury?
This seems to make an even greater case for hanging up the skates… multiple concussions with a broken vertebrae in the last concussion… what will it take, a broken vertebrae resulting in paralysis?
Update: it’s actually a soft-tissue injury, which can mimic the symptoms of a concussion. So perhaps that’s why it was missed?
If you want, you can watch the video here.
While I appreciate the news, why must they hold a press conference for everything? Leave the poor guy alone and quit dragging him in front of a camera constantly.
Years of giving guys smelling salts and telling them they just had their “bell rung,” and so now it’s overkill on the other side.
Everyone who I’ve talked to about the Crosby concussion issue always compares it to Lindros. And rightfully so, since that’s pretty much the worst case scenario. Come back when you’re not 100%, and get completely rocked. Ruined an amazing career. Ruined his brother’s career. Marc Savard’s career is probably done.
I don’t know if being as elite as he is should make it any more compelling for him to return. Are we saying that if he was a third line plugger–maybe a Richard Park or someone like that–that he ought to be more inclined to retire? A life is a life, and I would imagine being the go to goal scorer means people are more likely to hit Crosby than a grinder.
Second what Rickjay said. Makes me wonder how good my family doctor is if a multi-millionaire athlete can’t get a straight diagnosis, and has to see three specialists across the U.S. 