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14 J.L. Soc'y 309 (2013)
The Connection between Concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in Professional Athletics: A Necessary Change in the Sports Culture in Light of Legal Barriers

handle is hein.journals/jls14 and id is 317 raw text is: THE CONNECTION BETWEEN CONCUSSIONS AND CHRONIC TRAUMATIC ENCEPHALOPATHY (CTE) IN PROFESSIONAL ATHLETICS: A NECESSARY CHANGE IN THE SPORTS CULTURE IN LIGHT OF LEGAL BARRIERS ASHLEIGH WEINBRECHT Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION.............................................309 II. BACKGROUND.............................................310 A. NFL Lawsuits..................................310 B. Recent deaths of NHL players.......................315 C. Link of Concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) ............... .............318 III. ANALYSIS................................................320 A. Workers' Compensation...........................320 1. Professional Athletes Covered? ...........................320 i. Was the injury an accident?...... ...................322 ii. Is the workers' compensation remedy exclusive?..........323 2. Application to CTE scenarios ............. ................325 3. Labor Law and Collective Bargaining Agreements............326 i. Labor exemption to Antitrust law (Mackey Test) ...........326 ii. Federal Preemption & Mandatory Arbitration.............327 iii. Application to NFL & NHL contexts ........ .......329 4. Tort Law-Theories ofLiability for Sports Injuries.............330 i. Primary Implied Assumption ofRisk.............................330 ii. Secondary Assumption ofRisk.....................332 iii. Negligence ......................... .....334 iv. Express Assumption ofRisk............ .......335 IV. CONCLUSION .............................................336 I. INTRODUCTION It is widely accepted that injuries are commonplace in contact sports such as football and ice hockey. Body contacts, bruises, and clashes are inherent in the game. There is no other way to play it. No prospective player need be told that a participant may sustain injury. That fact is self evident. It draws to the game the manly; they accept its risks, blows, * Juris Doctor Candidate, May 2013, Wayne State University Law School. 309

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