Bruins Enforcer Defends His Position, Refutes Connection to NHL Deaths...But What About NFL Defensive Backs?
The summer of 2011 will be remembered as a treacherous time for the National Hockey League as well as the sport's international community.
Last week's plane crash killed 28 players, two coaches, and seven staff members of Russia's Lokomotiv Yaroslavol hockey team as the NHL community still mourned the unrelated deaths of three of the league's players. But the question remains: are the deaths truly unrelated?
Derrick Boogaard, 28, Rick Rypien, 27, and Wade Belak, 35, all found dead in the last five months, all played the role of enforcer out on the ice. Each team has one; he's probably not the best skater, his stick handling might be suspect, but he can and will kick the crap out of anyone who messes with his teammates. He's a bulldog in a hockey sweater.
Three deaths, three enforcers. Ruled an accident, Boogaard's death was caused by a lethal combination of alcohol and the painkiller oxycodone. Boogaard had been the victim of a vicious concussion, suffered from depression and had also been enrolled in the NHL's substance abuse program.
Various reports state that both Rypien and Belak's deaths were suicides.
When Belak was found dead on August 31, it became tough to ignore such a coincidence.
This leads us to today's comments from Shawn Thornton, tough guy for the Boston Bruins. Fresh off of taking the Stanley Cup on a tour of Boston just a few days ago, reporters caught up with Thornton who addressed the issue surrounding his position on the ice.
From ESPNboston.com's Joe McDonald, Thornton said, "No. No. And it kinda F---ing pisses me off that people take this opportunity to try to exploit a certain part of the game...Those are very sad instances and I don't think exploiting a part of the game is the right way to go. I think we should remember the people as the men they were and not what they did for a living." (http://espn.go.com/boston/nhl/story/_/id/6961894/blame-game-deaths)
First of all, I'm glad to hear that Shawn hasn't lost his edge or gone soft since winning the cup. Good to know. And while I can understand why he is a bit defensive, it does seem like there is more to this case than mere coincidence.
Hockey is a violent game that can cause major damage, a hard-hitting truth felt recently by Thornton's teammate Marc Savard and perhaps the NHL's best player, Sidney Crosby. Compound the physical nature of the game with a few rounds of boxing in ice skates, and there's your average night at the office... 82 times per season if you don't make the playoffs.
An NHL enforcer once told me that he landed the job of team tough guy when a juniors coach told him that taking on that role was likely his only shot at making the team. He got the gig and took his talents right on up the hockey ladder until he got to the big leagues. He never looked back, yet this man told me he hates it. Hates having to fight for a living, but said he didn't have a choice. A career of fighting, or no career at all.
Reading Thornton's comments today reminded me of my own theory involving danger-based-on-position.
In the last few years, the National Football League has publicly admitted to medical dangers of football and accepted some responsibility in terms of safety precautions, healthcare for retired players, etc. Concussions and repeated head trauma have been linked to brain damage, Alzheimer's disease, dementia and even ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).
While men who played football at any position are susceptible to head and neck injuries, I've always had a personal fear for the safety of defensive backs. It started back in 2006 when former Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Andre Waters killed himself at the age off 44. Apparently Waters had suffered from depression and other mental issues confirmed by medical testing that showed his brain tissue was in the condition of an 85-year-old man. Doctors said the damage was the result of concussions.
Fast forward to February of this year when history repeated itself with former Chicago Bears standout Dave Duerson ( http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/sports/football/03duerson.html ).
Several years ago a close friend of mine who was a pretty darn good DB at the Division 1 level died under very mysterious circumstances. Going into his senior year of college, he told me that he wanted to quit football because he didn't love the game anymore and something didn't feel right. Not only did he play his senior year, but it would be the best season of his career, good enough to land him in an NFL training camp that summer.
After getting cut a few days before the start of the regular season (due to injury, not a lack of talent), my friend gave up football and moved back home to start a new life. A life unlike the one he had known as a competitive athlete for nearly all of his 23 years.
Our mutual friends who spent a lot of time with him in the last few months before his death said he was depressed and behaved in ways that were uncharacteristic of him.
I was told that his family had the autopsy results sealed. I have never stopped wondering what answers might be floating around in those files. In my case, time has not healed the wound of curiosity as I vividly remember watching his entire college football team sitting in the pews across the isle from me during his funeral.
While living in Boston, I had a really nice off-the-record conversation with one of the Patriots' defensive backs; a casual chat about life. Prefaced by, "not to freak you out" and "I'm extra paranoid about this stuff," I told him about my fear for those playing football, especially at the defensive back position.
He told me that hell ya, he's afraid of what the future might hold for him. But as any good soldier would, he leaves those thoughts at the door, puts on the uniform and goes to work every Sunday.
I have yet to ask this player for his thoughts on former Patriots DB coach and NFL player player Corwin Brown (http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/6867723/former-notre-dame-fighting-irish-defensive-coordinator-corwin-brown-charged-three-felonies-standoff-police ).
While researching as I wrote this post, I stumbled upon someone else who shared my theory about defensive backs and breaks down the X's and O's of why that position is so risky. You can check it out here. ( http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/specialreports/specialnfl/s_291035.html )
Back to Boston, and Shawn Thornton, a person I respect and care about after covering the Bruins. While it might be somewhat of a stretch to link a position in the game of hockey to three deaths, it is absolutely a question worth asking.
There are a lot more questions on the way after a screening of the documentary, "The Last Gladiators," a film about the tough guys of hockey, at the Toronto Film Festival last week.
The film focuses on former Canadiens' enforcer Chris Nilan and the brutal road he has traveled through hockey and retirement. ( http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/a-hockey-enforcer-has-his-dark-day/)
I have a feeling today won't be the last time Thornton is forced to defend his position.
