Matt Rempe Is Taking a Risk to Reach NHL Success
In a poignant critique of the NHL’s enduring culture of fighting, Ken Campbell of The Hockey News raises a pressing question: Are we truly comfortable with the brutal path some players take to secure their place in the league? Campbell juxtaposes the tragic fate of former NHL player Greg Johnson, who suffered from CTE and took his own life, with the troubling decision of New York Rangers rookie Matt Rempe to take fighting lessons from Georges Laraque.
Campbell hints that, while fans may enjoy the spectacle of fights, the physical and mental toll on players is too significant to ignore, highlighting the need for the NHL to reevaluate and ultimately move away from this dangerous aspect of the sport.
While fighting in the NHL has long been a staple that many fans enjoy, given what happened this week, it is time to critically assess the impact it has on players and the sport as a whole. The tragic case of former NHL player Greg Johnson and the recent steps taken by Rempe to become an enforcer highlights the dire consequences and misguided nature of this aspect of hockey.
For any readers who don’t know exactly what the term CTE stands for (and I admit needing to learn more), it is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. CTE is a degenerative brain condition caused by repeated head traumas, such as concussions or blows to the head. It’s been repeatedly a condition for those in professional hockey who have been so-called “enforcers.”
Here’s a short definition and explanation: CTE is a neurodegenerative disease associated with repeated head injuries, particularly in contact sports like football, boxing, and hockey. It develops when repetitive blows to the head result in the accumulation of a protein called tau in the brain. This protein forms clumps that can spread throughout the brain, affecting nerve cells and potentially leading to symptoms such as memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, aggression, depression, and eventually progressive dementia.
It’s been a huge issue for enforcers in fighting. However, in the case of Johnson, one does not have to be an enforcer to have suffered repeated brain trauma.
