Family members of former NHL player sue the NHL for wrongful death

The family of deceased former Chicago Blackhawks player Steve Montador have sued the National Hockey League in Cook County court, claiming it encouraged Montador to get into fist fights on the ice, which resulted in brain damage before his death.  You can read the complaint here.

NFL revises its position regarding "race norming"

Back in March, and later in May, I wrote about ‘race norming’ and the NFL settlement fund to compensate retired players for the effects of their concussions and other injuries.  See here.  

I am writing today because according to a proposed deal filed Wednesday in federal court, the NFL has agreed to end race-based adjustments in dementia testing that critics said made it difficult for Black retirees to qualify for awards in the $1 billion settlement of concussion claims.  NPR has the story here.

The proposal, which must still be approved by a judge, says that no race norms or race demographic estimates will be used in the settlement program going forward, but it is not clear if the players who will be affected by the new proposal will simply have their tests scored anew, or whether they will have to subject themselves to a new rounds of tests.

To date, about 2,000 players have applied for awards based on arguments of dementia, but only 30% have been approved.