Canada needs single protocol for handling concussions, former pro athletes say
OTTAWA — Hockey legend Ken Dryden laid down a challenge Tuesday to sports executives in charge of leagues and federations to do more to protect athletes from the debilitating effects of head injuries.
In a blunt speech, Dryden took aim at the culture around concussions and drew a connecting line between head injuries and brain disease.
His keynote address at a one-day conference organized by Gov. Gen. David Johnston came two weeks after Canadian Football League commissioner Jeffrey Orridge said the science about football-related head trauma and brain disease is inconclusive.
The statement was a departure from the conclusion of the National Football League’s top health and safety officer, Jeff Miller, who told a U.S. congressional committee in March that linked football to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.