ecause of natural ability, good coaching and

Dennis Widemans hit on a linesman in January was haunting. The NHL had never seen one of its players steamroll a ref like that. Seven days after the incident, the league punished the?Calgary Flames?defenseman with a rare 20-game suspension.But on March 10, arbitrator James Oldham downgraded that suspension to just 10 games after being swayed by Widemans novel -- and medically questionable -- argument: Wideman claimed he was in a concussed state that kept him from knowing his actions would hurt the official. Call it the concussion defense.The arbitrator agreed. Oldham wrote, I do not believe that in his concussed state, Wideman could or should have anticipated that his push would cause [the linesman] to fall and bang his head against the boards ...On June 8, the NHL filed a lawsuit to reverse the arbitrators decision. According to the NHL, the decision cannot stand because the arbitrator exceeded his authority. Its currently awaiting the NHLPAs response on Widemans behalf, which is due by Friday.?But the arbitrators decision raises an important question that goes beyond the NHLs argument: Is the concussion defense legitimate?For those unfamiliar with Widemans case, the hit was pretty brutal. During the second period of Calgarys Jan. 27 game against the?Nashville Predators, Wideman took a nasty -- yet legal -- check into the?boards, which left him holding his head as he headed for his bench.On his way, the six-foot, 202-pound Flames defenseman came upon linesman Dennis Henderson, who was skating backward along the boards in Widemans direction. Suddenly, Wideman raised his stick, cross-checking the official in the back and violently sending him face-first to the ice, knocking him unconscious.Henderson suffered a concussion. As of the date the NHL filed its lawsuit, he still hadnt been cleared to return to work.Wideman later denied any recollection or intention. He said things were hazy after he was checked and blamed his actions on a concussion.Wideman isnt the first athlete to blame violence on head trauma. The defense is popping up in criminal courts across the country, albeit in cases where defendants are claiming long-term brain trauma and are accused of committing grave crimes.In January 2012, for example, Jordan Clemons, a 26-year-old former high school football star argued to a Pennsylvania jury that a decade of hard hits caused him to lose control and slit his ex-girlfriends throat. Clemons blamed his violence in part on the numerous head collisions hed suffered both on and off the field.The jury wasnt moved, however. He was sentenced to death.Blaming head trauma didnt fare well for Nathaniel Fujita either. A Massachusetts jury convicted the 20-year-old former high school wideout in March 2013 for strangling his high school sweetheart. A doctor retained by Fujitas trial team couldnt convince the jury that repeated on-field brain injuries contributed to his violent behavior.Massachusetts doesnt have the death penalty; Fujita got a life sentence.Just this month, former Arkansas and NFL running back Cedric Cobbs used brain trauma as a defense in federal court. He faced a maximum of four years in prison for his involvement in an OxyContin drug ring, but Cobbs received three years probation after convincing the court that repetitive brain trauma played a roll in his criminality and that hed fare better with continued treatment.Cobbs case didnt involve violence. And Clemons and Fujitas cases are different from Widemans in many ways, from the type of violence committed to the authority dolling out punishment. But most notably, unlike in those two cases, Wideman claimed his violence came on the heels of a single concussion rather than after years of repeated head trauma.According to Dr. Wayne A. Gordon, chief of rehabilitation psychology and neuropsychology at the Mount Sinai Brain Injury Research Center in New York, the notion that a concussion could immediately spark a violent attack is simply wrong. Violent behavior is not a common short-term consequence of a concussion, he said.I see individuals who are months post- or years post-injury, and, yes, some become agitated for no reason. They lash out at people. They become more angry, Dr. Gordon said over the phone from his Manhattan offices. But those are long-term issues. Theyre not things that emerge immediately.In fact, peer-reviewed medical research backs Dr. Gordon. The research indicates that agitation, poor emotional regulation, difficulty exercising physical control -- some of the factors that could produce violent behavior -- are long-term consequences of concussions. Nothing indicates that these consequences appear moments after a concussion.The two neurologists the NHLPA hired for Widemans case -- who had examined Wideman via FaceTime four days after the hit -- argued otherwise.One of the doctors testified at Widemans arbitration hearing that the concussed often suffer impulse-control difficulties in the immediate postconcussion phase. He believed Wideman couldnt have intended to harm the official because somebody whose brain is not forming cohesive plans is unable to suppress inappropriate behaviors. The other neurologist echoed those sentiments, adding little.If widely adopted, this theory posited by Widemans neurologists -- that bad behavior is an immediate postconcussion symptom -- could create a slippery slope for athletes.Widemans defense hinged on the notion that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between concussions and craze -- that head trauma converts players from being rational beings with self-restraint into lethal animals without self-control. If that were the case, concussed players could have to prove that they are not ticking time bombs post-impact.The concussed could have to persuade their teams that they wouldnt need to be quarantined, sway their spouses to believe its safe for them to be alone with their children, or even convince health insurers that they wouldnt pose a danger to themselves or others such that higher premiums would be necessary.The concussion defense also could be subject to abuse. A hockey or perhaps football player could use it as a convenient excuse should they lash out violently during a game. And such abuse could effectively undermine the rules of organized sports -- rules that are in place to keep players safe, encouraging participation.Many potential dangers could come from allowing concussions to excuse violent behavior like in Widemans case. The arbitrators decision endorsing the concussion defense could be that catalyst. Yes, it is just one decision by one arbitrator (who the NHL has since dismissed for undisclosed reasons). But the decision could be persuasive in other sports arbitration hearings, which often rely on prior arbitration rulings as guidance.If the decision stands, it might be just a matter of time before the defense that helped Wideman avoid a 20-game suspension begins to work to his detriment and that of other players.Adrienne Lawrence is an attorney with a B.S. and M.A. in criminal justice, as well as a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School. She practiced law from 2008 to 2015 before joining ESPN in August 2015. Air Force 1 Cheap Outlet . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. Cheap Air Force 1 China . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. http://www.airforce1outlet.com/ . -- Arizona raced out to a big lead and did not back off, hitting the accelerator instead. Air Force 1 Clearance Sale . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Cheap Air Force 1 Shoes Wholesale .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. RIO DE JANEIRO -- With the deftest of kicks, Spains Patricia Garcia etched her name in history as the player who officially signalled rugbys return to the Olympic Games after a 92-year hiatus. Rugby has arrived at the Olympics, but the womens sport cannot afford to miss this opportunity to grow the game worldwide.On Friday, Bill Beaumont, chairman of World Rugby, labelled sevens introduction into the Olympics as a game-changer. Brazil had a lot to live up to.The opening day at the Deodoro Stadium did its best to play up to sevens reputation as a sport anchored on entertainment both on and off the field. Songs in the charts and those tunes more arrowed on a mass drink-swaying sing-along boomed out of the PA system even before spectators were allowed into the stands. Once theyd traipsed in, with the stadium two-thirds full, a camera panned around the stadium spotting fans dancing to the various beats, all attempting to wear as little clothing as possible under the beating sun.Athletes before and after they played were either soaking up the rays in the stands or walking around the grounds confines, talking on phones to friends and family back home or catching up with players from other nations.And all the time a crocodile -- now unofficially named ruckadile -- swam along the Rio Pavuna.It was welcoming, unique, friendly and fun -- the perfect cocktail for attracting new followers and players of the sport but now comes the challenge to grasp this opportunity and use it to inspire future generations.Brazil already have the perfect athlete to inspire a new following: the brilliant, diminutive, electric Edna Santini. Standing at just 1.50m, she slips under flailing arms and has the pace to exploit any wayward positioning. Its the type of raw ability that causes folk to involuntarily leap from their seats in expectation. She has the star quality to become a continent-wide face for the sport but below this squad in the Olympics, the signs are optimistic.The legacy planning in this part of the world seems sound. Dotted around the stadium were various rugby-focused charity projects; one was Instituto Rugby Para Todos whose mission is to promote the education of children through the principles of rugby. Inspire the young, eager-eyed children and you have a foundation.And then there is World Rugbys IMPACT Beyond Rio programme, which was instigated in March 2015 reaching 175,000 players, coaches and young match officials.But thats just Brazil. World Rugbys vice-chairman, Argentina-born Agustin Pichot, wants to see the ripple effect of rugby in the Games carry to the other Latin America countries with Colombias qualification for the womens tournament a key catalyst in growing the game there while Argentina are already established as one of rugbys power-houses.ddddddddddddBut this talk of legacy is not just of Latin American importance. The USA has huge room to grow and they have the infrastructure and playing pool to become one of the worlds top sides in both mens and womens rugby but they need to start producing the goods on the field to get wider exposure. And then at the other end of the scale in terms of financial resources are Fiji.While the mens Fiji side are favourites to win the tournament, the women are less fancied but theirs is an inspirational story that needs to be told.In a country that has never won an Olympic medal, Fiji are daring to dream of their prospects here in Rio and if Fijis women end up medalling then it will be one of the most remarkable stories to emanate from the sport in recent times.The brilliant Litia Naiqato used to baffle her coaches. She was their fittest player but was tailing off in training sessions; only after looking into her circumstances did Chris Cracknell, Fiji womens head coach, find that she was running five miles to catch the bus in the morning to training and then five miles back in the evening. She was exhausted. Then Cyclone Winston struck in February and her village was obliterated. Yet here she is in Rio playing in a team that has three players under 18, five who have played the sport less than a year and Raijieli Daveau who played netball for Fiji with the Olympics her first ever rugby tournament.They dont use GPS equipment, instead they utilise the natural facilities available in Fiji such as their Sigatoka sand dunes. Regardless of whether they medal, they are here, beating the USA because of natural ability, good coaching and a love for the sport.On such tales, future generations can be inspired.Beaumont wants clubs worldwide to be inundated with new players after the Games, looking to play both 15s and sevens. Furthermore, he hopes those clubs who play the traditional 15s will look to sevens and see an opportunity to offer an easier pathway into the sport.The womens game has the potential to take rugby away from the traditional powerhouses and develop a sport with worldwide appeal. Get this opportunity right, grasp the legacy and having the sport in the Olympics will prove to be that game-changer for the womens rugby. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '