{"id":1270,"date":"2011-08-21T22:58:31","date_gmt":"2011-08-22T04:58:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waiting.com\/blog\/?p=1270"},"modified":"2011-08-21T22:58:31","modified_gmt":"2011-08-22T04:58:31","slug":"rick-rypiens-death-should-be-a-wake-up-call-to-the-nhl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waiting.com\/blog\/2011\/08\/rick-rypiens-death-should-be-a-wake-up-call-to-the-nhl.html","title":{"rendered":"Rick Rypien’s Death Should Be A Wake-Up Call To The NHL"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

The\u00a0National Hockey League needs to take a good hard look at why two\u00a0of its\u00a0players, known for\u00a0fighting\u00a0often and hard,\u00a0\u00a0have ended up dead this year.<\/p>\r\n

Earlier this month Winnipeg Jets\u00a0forward Rick Rypien, 27, was found dead in his home in Coleman, Alberta, Canada. He had suffered from bouts of depression for some time, and that ailment\u00a0forced him to take two leaves of absence when he played for the Vancouver Canucks, as The New York Times pointed out.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/08\/17\/sports\/hockey\/rypiens-death-follows-bouts-of-depression.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=rick%20rypien&st=cse<\/a><\/p>\r\n

A feisty fighter despite his relatively small size,\u00a05-feet-11 and 190 pounds, Rypien had failed to show up for a physical for the Jets. His\u00a0death was described as “sudden” but “not suspicious” by police.<\/p>\r\n

Rypien’s death wasn’t the only shocking NHL fatality this year.\u00a0In May, Rangers forward\u00a0Derek Boogaard was found dead in his Minneapolis apartment. He was killed by an accidental overdose of\u00a0oxycodone\u00a0and alcohol.\u00a0The 28-year-old had an addiction problem.<\/p>\r\n

Both players were fighters.\u00a0Boogaard was an enforcer who deliverd a lot of shots to the heads of his opponents, and\u00a0he got hit in the head in return.\u00a0Rypien wasn’t intimidated by bigger players: He took them on in fights on the ice.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Now both are dead, with Rypien the latest tragedy.<\/p>\r\n

“Comparisons to Boogaard are uncomfortable and unavoidable,” The Montreal Gazette wrote. “Both players, who routinely absorbed blows to the head in the line of duty,\u00a0are gone prematurely after encountering\u00a0serious off-ice issues.”<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0http:\/\/www.montrealgazette.com\/sports\/Rypien+death+should+raise+flags\/5264217\/story.html<\/a><\/p>\r\n

At a press conference, the president of the organization\u00a0Rypien once played for, the Western Hockey League,\u00a0raised\u00a0some of the hard questions that these two deaths present.<\/p>\r\n

In the case of Rypien, the Gazette quoted Brent Parker as saying, “There’s no question he took some blows. Whether that was a direct (contributor) to his problems, I guess that’s for medical people to determine. I couldn’t even\u00a0answer that, but it’s certainly\u00a0something that I’ve questioned and asked over the last 24 hours, and I don’t think there’s any way you can’t.”\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Brain injuries, blows to the head, can lead to depression.<\/p>\r\n

Pro hockey needs to step back and find a way to help players address the stress, mental and physical, of the game. It may need to change some of the rules to help players. But the process needs to start before another young player dies.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0National Hockey League needs to take a good hard look at why two\u00a0of its\u00a0players, known for\u00a0fighting\u00a0often and hard,\u00a0\u00a0have ended up dead this year. Earlier this month Winnipeg Jets\u00a0forward Rick Rypien, 27, was found dead in his home in Coleman, Alberta, Canada. He had suffered from bouts of depression for some time, and that ailment\u00a0forced him […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[771,584,772,769,770],"class_list":["post-1270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-derk-boogaad-death","tag-hockey-and-concussions","tag-hockey-and-traumatic-brain-injury","tag-nhl-and-head-injuries","tag-rick-rypien-death"],"yoast_head":"\nRick Rypien's Death Should Be A Wake-Up Call To The NHL - Brain Injury Lawyer Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/waiting.com\/blog\/2011\/08\/rick-rypiens-death-should-be-a-wake-up-call-to-the-nhl.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rick Rypien's Death Should Be A Wake-Up Call To The NHL - Brain Injury Lawyer Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The\u00a0National Hockey League needs to take a good hard look at why two\u00a0of its\u00a0players, known for\u00a0fighting\u00a0often and hard,\u00a0\u00a0have ended up dead this year. 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