Gary Bettman forced to testify in wrongful death lawsuit from former NHL enforcer.

The National Hockey League will be embroiled in another wrongful death lawsuit very soon, and I must admit that once again the league comes out of this looking rather ugly.

According to a breaking news report from TSN business insider Rick Westhead a lawsuit has been filed by Kelli Ewen on behalf of her late husband, former National Hockey League enforcer Todd Ewen. The lawsuit, like many others before it, alleges that the National Hockey League and its staff was negligent in their treatment of players suffering significant head trauma, a story that fans of the league are unfortunately all too familiar with. Ewen played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League before eventually retiring in 1997, however it would be years before the full impact of his head injuries would manifest. 

After years of suffering through crippling depression Ewen, once viewed as one of the toughest athletes in the sport, would take his own life in his family home on September 19th 2015. Multiple media reports suggested that Ewen took his own life via a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, so at the very least it is impossible not to feel a tremendous sense of grief for Kelli here. I can not imagine what that terrible day must have been like for her, and even if you don't agree with her decision to pursue the NHL for this, it is very difficult not to feel genuine empathy for this poor woman.

On Thursday attorney's made a court filing of behalf of Kelli Ewen:

“[Kelli Ewen] alleges the NHL fostered an environment that encouraged and pressured players like Todd to fight opponents for entertainment and to increase revenue, also increasing the risk that players developed long-term brain damage, all while downplaying the risk of repeated head trauma,” wrote her lawyer Brian Gudmundson as per TSN. “To this day, the NHL carries the dubious distinction of being the last ‘league of denial’ and denies that repeated head trauma poses any risk of permanent brain damage.”

One final interesting little detail from the court filings, it appears as though several former NHL players will be call to testify as a part of this lawsuit and they will be joined on the stand by none other than NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. The trial likely will not take place until September of 2020, so it may be some time before we are able to provide additional updates regarding this case. 

As per TSN, the NHL is seeking to have this case dismissed outright, arguing that this matter should have been dealt with under the rules of the NHL's collective bargaining agreement.