Gary Bettman: 'No Evidence' Of Link Between Hockey, Brain Trauma Disease CTE
By Chris Emma--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Visiting the United Center for Game 3 of the Western Conference Final, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman met with reporters on hand and was specifically asked about a connection between hockey and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is better known as CTE.
"From a medical science standpoint, there is no evidence yet that one necessarily leads to the other," Bettman said. "I know there are a lot of theories, but if you ask people who study it, they tell you there is no statistical correlation that can definitively make that conclusion."
The question was made relevant after it was found that the late Steve Montador, a former Blackhawk who died at the age of 35, had CTE.
Montador's family plans to file a lawsuit against the NHL in light of the posthumous discovery of CTE. The name of Montador was specifically mentioned in the initial question to Bettman.
Bettman said the NHL is "vigorously defending" the lawsuits it's facing related to head injuries. He declined to discuss the specifics of the lawsuits.
Follow Chris on Twitter @CEmma670.