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Commentary Ownership

Informed Consent Isn’t Just for Academics

 

Brooks Laich of the Washington Captials says he would like to stop having people babysit him.

There has been a lot of talk these last few weeks regarding head injuries and fighting in the NHL. Some people are talking about head hits and what the NHL is doing to prevent them. Some people are talking about concussions and the best way to treat them. Others are talking about the cognitive dissonance shown by those in a league that, while claiming to be “cracking down on headshots,” still allows bare-knuckle fighting within the rules of the game. All are valid discussions, and all are a long way from being resolved, one way or the other.

With all of these discussions, what has interested me is the most is that very little has been heard from the men who actually PLAY the game at its highest level. Where do they weigh in on these subjects? While the media has been up in arms with the latest round of “we need to ban fighting in the NHL” hoopla, the players have been largely silent on the matter. That is, they had been, up until this past Friday (Oct 14). Then, following a game between Pittsburgh and Washington (in which the already belaboured debate surrounding the Asham-Beagle fight began) Brooks Laich, a member of the Washington Capitals (and coincidentally, also the team’s NHLPA rep) was quoted as saying the following (via Chuk Gormley of CSN Washington)

I really don’t care about that awareness crap. To be honest, I’m sick of hearing all this talk about concussions and about the quiet room. This is what we love to do. Guys love to play, they love to compete, they want to be on the ice. How do you take that away from someone? We accept that there’s going to be dangers when we play this game. We know that every time we get dressed. I don’t know, sometimes it just feels like we’re being babysat a little too much. We’re grown men and we should have a say in what we want to do.

At the time, Laich was referring to the NHL’s concussion protocols that were introduced last year in an attempt to prevent players from reinjuring (or further injuring) themselves after sustaining a head injury. That said, what struck me about this statement wasn’t Laich’s stance on the concussion protocols, but rather his attitude toward the risks that he and every player in the NHL assumes when stepping on the ice. Basically he was saying “I’m a grown man. I know there are risks involved in what I do. But I’m making a conscious choice in taking those risks. The consequences are my responsibility.” In essence he was claiming that he and every player who laces up skates in the NHL gives their informed consent to take certain risks with their health when they step on the ice.

One part of me wholeheartedly agrees with Laich. He’s a grown man and he openly acknowledges and accepts that there are risks (some of them serious) associated with what he does for a living. Besides, professional hockey players are not the only professionals in this world who take risks with their health (both in the short- and long-term) in the execution of their jobs. Coal miners risk cave-ins and black lung. Fisherman risk drowning. Lumberjacks risk disfigurement and death from falling trees and heavy machinery. This past weekend we even saw the worst case scenario unfold during the Vegas 300 Indy race when Dan Wheldon was tragically killed in a mid-race crash. All of these individuals know the risks of their respective professions, and still choose to take part. Some do it for love, some do it for money, but all make a conscious choice. Why should hockey players be any different?

And yet there is another part of me that seems to think that, while Laich is right to a point – he is a grown man making his own decisions – his information is incomplete. Many sources define informed consent as when an individual has a clear appreciation and understanding of the facts, implications, and future consequences of an action. But long term brain injury is a serious health risk, and there is still a great deal about concussions that is unknown, even to doctors researching the phenomenon. So if neurologists are still grappling with the problem, how does a professional hockey player really expect to be fully informed about the risks, with a “clear appreciation and understanding of the facts?” Besides, if the precautions mean he misses a shift or two in the “quiet room,” that seems a small price to pay in the name of preserving his long term neurological health.

As with any issue as complex as this, there are no easy answers. There are no “perfect” solutions. But one of the biggest questions I find myself asking – and that I feel may underscore all of these debates – is this: What constitutes “informed” consent? Especially when it comes to an injury that may impair one’s decision making capability, at what point are we able to draw the line, sit back and say “You’ve been warned. Continue at your own peril.”?

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Ownership Uncategorized

Time for a J.A.W.B.?

 

Welcome to the first entry for RW Consulting. First, I want to make clear – I am going to make every effort to make sure this isn’t Just Another Wordpress Blog. I want to be engaging, or at the very least, thought provoking with these entries, and with the website as a whole.

So what am I trying to do here? Well, my intent is two fold. First, I’m looking to provide commentary about the athletic and business worlds from a decidedly psychological perspective. Rather than simply commenting on the state of affairs, my intent is provide psychological commentary about the key players of various events. What was an athlete or leader thinking? Where did a certain reaction come from? How are current events likely to affect athletes and/or groups? – I intend to try and answer those questions and more.

Second, I am going to educate the general public about what sport psychology, mental strength and conditioning, and the psychology of performance entail. What they are, and especially what they aren’t, will often be key talking points for me. Perhaps this is the best place for me to start.

Too often I’ve found that Sport Psychology (the main area of my own training) and the Psychology of Performance is stigmatized as the last bastion of a desperate mind, just this side of Tony Robbins and the self-help gurus of the 90’s. In some cases, that has been true in the past. However, from my own perspective, the psychology of performance has so much more to offer beyond the over-simplified view often held by the public that all we do in the field is get people to “imagine” doing things better. The field is full of concrete activities and exercises that can have real effects on a person’s performance.

Ultimately the field really boils down to insight – both about one’s self (in the form of self-knowledge) and about those one may interact with (be they competitors or co-workers). Sun-Tzu, the ancient Chinese military philosopher, is often quoted as saying the following

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

Sport psychology, in its purest form, is about gaining such types of insight. My hope is that the following posts help in your own development…