Hockey commentator Don Cherry deemed a bad influence
Posted December 13, 2009 9:07 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Toronto doctor says Don Cherry is a negative influence on the game he once coached.
The comment is coming out of a concussions seminar in Regina where former players talked about the pressures to keep playing despite an injury.
Neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Tator believes that Cherry’s “aggressive lack of respect hockey that he preaches” contribute to serious hockey injuries. “I feel there’s been too much emphasis on the sock ’em, kill ’em type of hockey rather than on skill hockey,” Tator said.
Tator is hoping Cherry, and other on-air commentators can tone it down, and take a stand against hits on the head during games.
And hockey isn’t the only sport feeling pressure to do something about concussions.
In an Associated Press report this month nearly 20 per cent of 160 NFL players surveyed said they’ve hidden or downplayed the effects of a concussion.
Experts at the Hockey Canada seminar say that’s a big part of the problem.
Paul Dennis, the former sports psychologist for the Toronto Maple Leafs, says injured players do anything to get back on the ice.
“People want to win, they want to be successful, they want power, they want glory, they want money and they are willing to sacrifice health and put themselves at risk in order to achieve those goals,” Dennis said. “That’s a mistake.”
Former NHL defenceman Jamie Heward estimates he may have had as many as 20 concussions over the years, but he kept going back to the game.
“The pressure to get back on the ice as quick as you possibly can is so incredible,” he said. “I don’t mean it’s pressure from management and trainers, I mean it’s pressure from the players themselves.
“When I got hit the first reaction was ‘I’m not going to get paid. If I don’t get back on the ice, I’m not going to get paid. Somebody’s going to take my job and I need to get back on the ice.’ So at times, hockey players, we’re our worst enemy.”
Heward says it’s important to look at protocols and guidelines that will help future generations.
“This is a serious problem that demands serious attention,” he said. “This is a problem that could change our game forever and it certainly could change sports forever.”
