Yet another loss - the passing of Wade Belak



Wade Belak

 It seems rather surreal that the hockey world could lose yet another of its most beloved members in such a short period of time. August 31st, 2011 marked the passing of one of the NHL's most colorful and most charismatic former players; recently retired defenseman Wade Belak. After parts of 15-seasons in the NHL, Belak had just retired from the game as a member of the Nashville Predators on March 8th and had moved onto television work with the intention of remaining with Nashville in an organizational role. The sad irony of Belak's passing is that within a matter of a four month timespan, he was the third of three toughguy enforcers to have died; the first being New York Rangers' enforcer Derek Boogaard and the second being Winnipeg Jets' scrapper Rick Rypien. In each of the three instances there appears to be concern that depression or misuse of substances (albeit accidental) played a factor in each players' demise.

As stated in my August 21st entry Mental health of players, both during and after their careers, I touched upon the idea that the NHL ought to look into providing services for retired players that help to promote mental health awareness and positive decision making skills. There is always a difficulty in having to let go of something, especially when that something has been both your career and your life. In letting go of the game of hockey and moving onto other roles in life following retirement, some players are able to adjust and handle the changes better than others. The instances are numerous of players who have suffered from depression and/or fell victim to substance abuse after they have retired from their professional hockey careers. More needs to be done to help assimilate retired players into life post-hockey, and the mental health concerns of retired players need to be studied as well in order to prevent any further tragic deaths. There has to be some type of outreach or program to help former players who are in trouble and give them the support that they need.

Outwardly, Belak had so much going for him. Not only was he widely respected by fans, former teammates and opponents, and the hockey world in general, but Belak had found success in other avenues of life. Married with two young daughters, preparing to take part in the upcoming third season of the reality show Battle of the Blades, working in Nashville's broadcasting booth providing color-commentary all seem like such wonderful things. But were they enough to outweigh the loss of retiring and leaving at least the playing-portion of the game behind? According to Belak's mother, Lorraine Belak, he was suffering from depression in the recent times preceeding his death and it was something that he was endeavoring to take control of. Sadly, it appears that Wade Belak was unable to control his bouts with depression which may have in turn led to his untimely death.

Many are left to ponder - is there any significance to the fact that the three players to lose their lives were all enforcers and were all frequenters of dropping the gloves to fight? Some speculate that the repeated blows to the head that these players endured may have damaged their brains in a way that may have caused these players to suffer from depression. In Boogaard's case, his family has decided to donate his brain to the Boston University Medical School, where it can be studied and perhaps shed insight on the effects on the brains of athletes who partake in high-contact sports, especially in regards to the degenerative brain condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The symptoms of this brain condition are somewhat similar to dementia, and include memory loss, aggression, confusion and, perhaps most significantly in these particular instances, depression. Could brain injuries be at least partly responsible for the deaths of these three players?

Regardless of what the underlying reason is in the deaths of Belak, Rypien and Boogaard, the solution is the same - something must be done not only to help players that are presently active in their careers, but also give them the support that they need and provide helpful services to them after they retire. Maybe some form of post-traumatic stress disorder treatments or programs should be offered to retired hockey players. I pride NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on his adamant statement that the League will be reviewing their programs for players dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues, but I firmly believe that the same must be done for players once their playing days are over, and perhaps most crucially during the time frame when they have recently retired from the sport. There has to be a support network for past and present athletes of the game in order to prevent any further tragedies.