Players don’t want to let their side down. And they fear they won’t get a contract renewed

PI had a lot of trouble with headaches. I definitely had concussion

ICE HOCKEY ACE SHIELDS REVEALS HE PUT HIS LIFE IN DANGER PLAYING ON AFTER BEING CONCUSSED

eople who are concussed in sport are frequently putting their lives at risk over fears they will let team-mates down or have their contracts terminated ahead of time.

These are the claims from several high-profile sportsmen who have told Sportsmail about their fears of a so-called ‘macho’ culture that is leading to players remaining on the field of play after suffering a blow to the head.

Despite mounting evidence suggesting a possible link between sport-induced brain injury and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTe), some players are choosing to carry on regardless.

Colin Shields from Glasgow played ice hockey for 20 years and was inducted into the UK’s Hall of Fame in 2021. on top of a successful career for Team GB men, he remains the elite league’s all-time leading points scorer.

Shields, now a business owner and successful TV pundit, told Sportsmail he had suffered ‘five or six’ documented concussions during games of hockey on the ice, but admitted to willingly playing on up to eight different occasions when he knew he should not have been anywhere near the field of play. He now wants to raise awareness of the problems sport faces when players are given responsibility for their own decision-making.

‘I probably had five or six documented concussions over a 20-year period, from the age of 19,’ said the 42-year-old.

‘I got a stick in the eye in 2018 playing against Milton Keynes and had a lot of troubles with vision and headaches. I definitely had concussion there. I took maybe three or four months off with that one. I would get headaches when I tried to focus or drive because the muscles behind my eye were damaged, so it took a while for that to recover.

‘When you have an obvious injury, teams are better with those kinds of things because you can see it. It’s the smaller hits that go unnoticed. If a player doesn’t get whacked or knocked out, that can possibly cause more damage because those injuries fly under the radar.

‘on one occasion, I was fully knocked out and in hospital, where I couldn’t remember anything from the game. Thankfully, it was towards the end of the season, so I had the summer to recover.

‘Then I had a couple of knocks on the head where you leave the game and don’t play for a few days. There are others where you maybe don’t feel oK but you are following the protocol of a questionnaire, which asks things like: “How do you feel?” and “Are you able to play?”

‘When you’re going through that, it feels like a brain fog, you can’t focus, feel dizzy, sick, like your head is not quite there. You suffer headaches and tiredness.

‘I remember travelling on the bus or the train getting motion sickness and feeling not quite right.

‘over a 20-year period, I had at least another six-to-eight concussions, which were undocumented — where there’s no chance I should have been playing. However, you dust yourself off, get a drink of water and go back out there.’

Insisting he doesn’t hold anyone to account but himself for putting his health in danger, Shields feels concussion suffers from the same stigma as mental illness as it so often lies unseen as opposed to physical injuries.

‘It’s hard at the levels I was involved in because funding for sports like ice hockey is very small compared to sports like rugby or football,’ adds Shields (right). ‘I’ve nothing negative to say about doctors or anyone else I worked with on that side of things — it’s just the sport mentality of not wanting to let your team down.

‘There’s also the fear of losing your spot in the team if you get injured. It’s a big deal if you are under contract. You constantly ask yourself: “If I sit out 20 games injured, will I get my contract renewed?” or: “Will I have to drop down a level?” I was the one who said I was oK and I’m not blaming anyone else for that. In America, in the NHl, things are becoming a lot tighter and they’re making sure guys are recovering before coming back to play. ‘However, the “macho” sport element where there’s a lot of male old-school thinking remains. Unless your leg is broken in two, guys will get back out there and play. Brain injuries or concussions are often a hidden injury. No one knows what the player is feeling and they put a lot of pressure on themselves to get back onto the ice and get going again. ‘It’s one of the biggest issues, that insecurity with regards to letting your team down or losing your spot.’

In Shields’ time as a player, concussion protocol was basic to say the least.

He explains: ‘In my last few years I had to do a baseline test involving questions on the computer and testing for sharpness, etc. But that was all at the start of the season when you were completely healthy! I never had to be taken off the ice.

‘A lot of it was just the questionand-answer scenario about how I was feeling. Did I have a headache, how do you feel now, are you lightheaded, etc? I’m sure at the higher level you have more extensive ways of testing, but that was my experience.’

In england, the Ice Hockey Association states that any athlete with suspected concussion should be immediately removed from play and referred to a medical professional for diagnosis and guidance.

In Scotland, meanwhile, there are specific rules around concussion, set out by governing body Sportscotland, which state that any player suspected of being ‘knocked out’ should be reviewed in an accident and emergency department, while any player with a history of multiple concussions should be assessed and managed by healthcare providers.

For Shields, who retired in Northern Ireland, solace was sought instead in fellow players.

‘After my career, I had issues related to my concussions and it wasn’t until I stopped playing that I realised my head and brain weren’t as they should be,’ he revealed. ‘When you’re playing and you’re constantly working, it’s difficult to take a step back and say “this isn’t normal”.

‘I have many friends in America who have a lot of trouble with concussions. one of them — fellow ice hockey player paul Kariya — had many issues and had to retire because of concussions.’

Kariya’s problems with brain trauma are well-documented. The brilliant young player from Canada competed in two olympic Games and two World Championships, but left the sport in 2011 after suffering six concussions and multiple injuries in the NHl. In

post-retirement interviews, he admitted to a 60-per-cent reduction in brain function in ImPACT testing. He says that having previously been accepted into Harvard, he was now testing in the 25-per-cent percentile for his age group. Kariya had suffered postconcussion syndrome and would never play on the ice again.

While Shields believes he has returned to full fitness since retiring, he admits to suffering recurring issues for a lengthy period on first leaving the sport.

‘One of the big things for me was sleeping,’ he explained. ‘I had a lot of issues with night terrors and things like that. I had mood swings, other symptoms from not fully recovering. It’s not just about the physical side of things — it’s about slowing everything down. If your brain doesn’t heal, it never will. You need to step back.’

For Shields, using oxygen therapy was a game-changer. He added: ‘I spoke to Paul Kariya and his brother about what they did to help themselves with their concussion. They used hyperbaric chambers and I also did that after I retired. In Belfast where I now live, there’s a therapy centre and it allowed for the healing of cells and brain tissue. Some of this type of therapy is for people with long-term illnesses but I noticed a big difference from doing that. I felt it allowed me to get back to a normal level for myself.

‘It’s one of those things you don’t think about when you’re playing. But when you step away from the game it gives you perspective.

‘Concussion is a scary thing and you see a lot of retired NFL and NHL players having a lot of issues. You see suicides and mental-health problems and it’s definitely to do with injuries to the head.

‘If you go down the NFL rabbit hole there’s definitely a link to poor mental health. In the NHL there has been substance abuse, too. If you look at the NFL players and those involved, in retirement there seems to be a link with head injuries and what’s going on with the players.’

Shields recognises he is lucky not to have suffered any lasting effects on his mental health. But how does he assess the effect on his brain in the years to come? ‘You do think about it,’ the Scot admitted. ‘I played hockey and got other hits. I got knocks which were concussion but others which may also have caused damage. I don’t know how bad they will be — there’s not much I can do about it now. I just have to stay as healthy as possible.

‘There were times I played with concussion when I shouldn’t have. It was always me who made the decision. You were never directed to do so. I never felt pressurised by anyone else.

‘From the outside, if it was your son or daughter involved in a concussion and you saw the symptoms and what’s happening now with regards to links to dementia, you might look at this differently.

‘Unless you get folk into a lab and do lots of testing, it’s difficult. And unless you’re at the top of the sports pyramid, seeing the best doctors in the world, it’s one of those things that’s hard to measure.

‘It’s down the road, in 20 or 30 years, where you’ll have to deal with the consequences.’