Tough guys concerned about news of Probert's brain disease

Stu Grimson estimates he fought Bob Probert 14 or 15 times during their NHL careers and Probert has now staggered him in death more than he did in any of their bouts.

Probert died at 45 last summer from a heart condition, but researchers at Boston University announced Thursday that a study of Probert's brain tissue revealed he had the degenerative brain disease Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

"To know Bob Probert was in this situation (concerns me) because there is no greater parallel for me than Bob," said Grimson, now an attorney in Nashville. "He is a strong comparable in terms of the trauma he suffered. And the important distinction between Bob and I is that I left the game with post-concussion syndrome and he didn't."

A little more than a year ago, not knowing he was close to death, Probert watched a 60 Minutes report on the study of athletes' brains for concussion research and told his wife to donate his brain. His wife, Dani, asked that the study be made public with the idea that it might help other players.

"I've always had suspicions about what damage I've done to that area of my body," Grimson said. "Reading about Bob poses two questions: Should I be tested for anything like this? And maybe what comes before that is: Assuming I had CTE, or something like that, is there a remedy?"

Probert and Grimson each had more than 200 fights during his NHL career. Grimson said he already started to reach out to his local medical community to get more information.

"Today's announcement regarding the CTE diagnosis of former NHLPA member Bob Probert is an important piece of research that players, along with everyone else interested in the safety and well-being of hockey players, should consider seriously," said Don Fehr, the NHL Players Association's executive director. "We look forward to reviewing the full results of the study."

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said, through a league email, that the results add to the league's broader knowledge of injuries.

"But we're not going to react or make changes based on findings related to one player," Daly said, "especially when it's impossible to identify, or isolate, one of many variables that may have factored into the conclusions reached, and when there is no real 'control group' to compare his results to."

Dr. Robert Stern, co-director of Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University's School of Medicine, said that while Probert did have CTE, "it was not as advanced as many of the pro football players' brains we have studied."

What is CTE? Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes (and others) with a history of repetitive brain trauma, including symptomatic concussions as well as asymptomatic subconcussive hits to the head. CTE has been known to affect boxers since the 1920s. However, recent reports have been published of neuropathologically confirmed CTE in retired professional football players and other athletes who have a history of repetitive brain trauma. This trauma triggers progressive degeneration of the brain tissue, including the build-up of an abnormal protein called tau. These changes in the brain can begin months, years, or even decades after the last brain trauma or end of active athletic involvement. The brain degeneration is associated with memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, and, eventually, progressive dementia. - From the website of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy

The report offers no conclusion about whether the CTE could be caused by Probert's propensity for fighting, or other factors.

"It definitely can't be ruled out," Stern said. "But when it comes to hockey, we really don't yet know whether it's the game itself, and the hits players take by playing the sport, and/or the hits to the head from fighting," Stern said.

The research center, which has pledges from 350 living athletes to donate their brains, is a leading authority in the national conversation about concussions. Last month, the family of former Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson donated his brain to the center after he committed suicide at 50.

Reggie Fleming, an NHL tough guy in the 1960s, also had CTE, the center determined. Stern said Fleming's CTE was more severe than Probert's, but he was 73 when he died in 2009.

"What we believe is that repetitive brain trauma is necessary for CTE to develop but it is not sufficient," Stern said, "Some people with repetitive brain trauma get the disease and some people don't. So there must be other factors that put people at greater risk."

CTE has been a known issue for football players.

"But it hits closer to home when you see that Probert had developed it," said Anaheim Ducks tough guy George Parros, who leads the NHL with 23 fighting majors. "This is something we want to pay attention to. We need to find out the cause because we don't know yet."

Keith Primeau, forced to retire from the NHL because of post-concussion syndrome, has willed his brain to science. He still has symptoms and hasn't been able to exercise in nearly five years.

"I wasn't surprised by the results (of the Probert) study," he said. "This was just a reaffirmation of the severity of this issue."

Primeau, a 6-4 center who had four documented concussions, played a physical game and he said it never occurred to him that he might be damaging his brain.

"Not in the least," he said. "What is alarming to me is that we now have case studies and hockey players aren't taking notice yet."