A very famous athlete had suffered concussions during his career and this lead to him killing his family and himself. I won´t put the name here, but people in the US / Canada will know about which former Wrestler I am talking about. There are also multiple reports from American Football players, becoming violent due concussions.
During Sochi we had several injuries at Snowboard, even with full body protection!
Therefore, it is a very serious topic.
A topic that however, might not suit the interests of those who want to make money with the skaters. An ice princess with a helmet and protective pads, just doesn´t suit the market, while a skater with long blond hair and a smile does.
Just look at Yulia in her red dress, would she have had the same global success with a helmet, or what about Hanyu? I doubt it and there lays the problem. Things tend to not change in favor of the athletes, but to milk the cow more and especially the ladies in sport, suffer under this.
One of the biggest trademarks a person has, is the face, therefore many sport activities that are popular, still expose that part of the body. It´s also important to note that quite often the athlete want´s to continue and this is exactly what causes the damage and why you need several weeks before stepping back in. So one side of the medal is the lack of protection, but also the poor treatment and discipline by athlete and doctors.
