Same sort of thing happened in the NHL. Back about 1994, Chicago’s Michel Goulet suffered a career ending head injury when he went headfirst into the boards from skating hard and then slipping. The media picked on the lightweight Jofa 235 helmet he wore (along with Wayne Gretzky and many other players) and demanded the league enact stricter standards for headgear, even though Goulet’s doctor soon said that even a stronger helmet probably would not have saved his career.
The NHL gave into the media’s browbeating and enacted stricter standards (banning that type of helmet). And guess what? Within a couple of years or so of doing that(and continuing today), even more cheapshot and deliberate attempt to injure incidents and concussions and careers ended (Lindros brothers, Keith Primeau, Pat Lafontaine, etc). Thanks media, for acting so much in our best interests (sarc).
Hey. If they weren’t there to protect us, who would? :>}