Inquiry into death of fighter calls for Alberta to regulate bouts, enforce stronger oversights

A judge who led a fatality inquiry into the death of fighter Tim Hague after he was knocked out in an Edmonton bout seven years ago is calling for sweeping changes to the way combative sports are regulated in the province.

Hague died from a brain hemorrhage on June 18, 2017, two days after he was knocked unconscious by his opponent during a boxing match sanctioned by the Edmonton Combative Sports Commission.

A left uppercut during the second round put Hague on the canvas. He managed to walk to his dressing room, lost consciousness again, and lapsed into a coma.

Hague, 34, was treated for a brain bleed but failed to recover. Two days after the fight, he was taken off life support.

Hague's death prompted calls for improved regulation of combative events in the province, had ripple effects on the sport and continues to raise questions about the safety regulations around combative and mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters in Alberta. 

In her report into Hague's death, Justice Carrie Sharpe says Alberta alone should handle sanctioning of combative sports, instead of the current patchwork of municipal bodies. 

Alberta is the only province that puts combative sports commissions under municipal jurisdiction. Sports safety advocates and city officials have long lobbied the province to create a single governing body.

"In Alberta, like no other jurisdiction in North America, there is no provincial oversight," Sharpe, with the Alberta Court of Justice, says in her report.

"As there is no provincial oversight, there are gaps in the sanctioning of events that could lead to suspensions not being appropriately applied."

Sharpe makes a total of 14 recommendations, including a call for stringent limits on when contestants are cleared to fight and how fighter safety is regulated.

She calls for the development of guidelines to prevent fighters who may be suffering from concussions or other traumatic brain injuries from entering the ring. 

Sharpe recommends universal suspension periods and more centralized tracking of athletes' fight records, and measures that would ensure all fighters are subject to regulated rest periods between fights.

"Boxers don't always just box," Sharpe writes. "They may also participate in MMA and therefore the commissions must look at the fact that there are rules, in particular around suspensions, that are different."

Under current rules, a boxer who has suffered two knockouts from blows to the head within a six-month period would be issued a 180-day suspension. In MMA, the suspension period is currently 60 days.

Currently in boxing, three blows to the head result in a one-year suspension while MMA fighters are pulled from the card for a maximum of 90 days. 

The report calls for mandatory medical suspensions of 14 days or more between all fights, regardless of outcome.

Fighters who suffer a knockout should face mandatory suspensions and be disqualified from fighting again for at least 90 days, Sharpe writes.

Her recommendations include calls for more oversight in regard to how a fighter's health is tracked.

If the fighter loses due to knockout from blows to the head, they should be compelled to provide an MRI or CT scan that proves that are fit to fight, Sharpe recommends.

Contestants should be required to provide a CT scan every six months, regardless of injuries they suffered in the ring. The judge says a single database should be created to track fighters' medical and match histories. 

Sharpe also calls for "concussion spotters" at every combative sports event in the province. Medically trained to recognize the symptoms of a concussion, they should have the authority to stop a fight, the judge says.

As well, Sharpe says referees should undergo mandatory training every year in how to spot signs of head trauma, and fight doctors should be compelled to review all previous medical results for the fighters in their care.

A final fight

Hague — a teacher from Boyle, Alta., who made his pro mixed martial arts debut in 2006 — was not originally on the fight card for June 16, 2017. He was asked to compete after another fighter was removed for medical reasons.

Hague had suffered numerous knockouts and had been sidelined repeatedly for concussion symptoms. His most recent suspension had expired days before he fought.

The inquiry heard that he suffered a subdural hematoma and there was a large area of bleeding over his brain.

There was also evidence of traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease often found in athletes and military veterans with histories of repetitive brain trauma.

The City of Edmonton held its own inquiry into Hague's death which also highlighted a series of shortcomings in regulatory oversight. The city later imposed temporary moratoriums on combative sports.

In a statement, the city said it's in the process of reviewing the recommendations to evaluate their feasibility and potential impact on public safety. A formal response to the inquiry will be finalized by March 2025, the city said.

'A very distinct jurisdiction'

Joseph Schow, Alberta's minister of tourism and sport, said the province will review the recommendations, consult with sports commissions and determine next steps.

He declined to say if Alberta will take over as a sanctioning body.

"Alberta is a very distinct jurisdiction, but in this instance we will make sure that we are not outliers when it comes to safety, that we are taking steps in the future, looking at this report. And we'll come back with the plan," Schow told CBC on Tuesday.

Erik Magraken, a combat sports regulatory lawyer in British Columbia, said having Alberta responsible for oversight makes sense.

"It offers consistency in the entire province, so you're not going to have one set of rules in Lethbridge, another set of rules in Calgary, another set of rules in Edmonton," he said.

Hague's family has said he never should have stepped into the ring that night and that the people responsible for his safety failed to protect him.

The family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2019 seeking more than $5 million in damages for what they claim was gross negligence causing death.

The family and their lawyer, Ari Schacter of Assiff Law, declined to comment on the status of the lawsuit. 

Schacter said the family has reviewed the report and supports the recommendations.

"There's a feeling that hopefully there will be changes made in the name of Tim Hague," he said.

In a statement sent to CBC News, Hague's sister, Jackie Neil, said the family is happy to put the matter behind them and move forward with their lives.

"This has always been about fighter safety," she wrote.

"We hope that the commission recommendations will ensure that no other family has to go through the death of a loved one."