On September 11, 2018, NHL
Commissioner Gary Bettman revealed to the Associated Press that a
judge had ordered the NHL to enter into
mediation regarding a concussion lawsuit. This news comes in the
wake of a July 13 ruling where a Minnesota federal judge denied a
motion for class action status in a case brought by a group of
former NHL players. The players attempted
to create a group of all living former NHL players and a group of all retired players
diagnosed with neurological diseases, disorders or conditions,
combining a totaling of more than 5,000 players.
Currently, more than 100 former players are part of the lawsuit
that accuses the NHL of failing to better
prevent repeated subconcussive impacts to the head, a leading
factor in CTE development. Commissioner
Bettman was quoted saying, "We [the NHL] also think the lawsuit doesn't have
merit." The NHL concussion lawsuit
follows the NFL player's successful
concussion lawsuit settled on January 7, 2017, which