Dennis Widemans hit on a linesman in January was haunting. The NHL had never seen one of its players steamroll a ref like that. Seven days after the incident, the league punished the?Calgary Flames?defenseman with a rare 20-game suspension.But on March 10, arbitrator James Oldham downgraded that suspension to just 10 games after being swayed by Widemans novel -- and medically questionable -- argument: Wideman claimed he was in a concussed state that kept him from knowing his actions would hurt the official. Call it the concussion defense.The arbitrator agreed. Oldham wrote, I do not believe that in his concussed state, Wideman could or should have anticipated that his push would cause [the linesman] to fall and bang his head against the boards ...On June 8, the NHL filed a lawsuit to reverse the arbitrators decision. According to the NHL, the decision cannot stand because the arbitrator exceeded his authority. Its currently awaiting the NHLPAs response on Widemans behalf, which is due by Friday.?But the arbitrators decision raises an important question that goes beyond the NHLs argument: Is the concussion defense legitimate?For those unfamiliar with Widemans case, the hit was pretty brutal. During the second period of Calgarys Jan. 27 game against the?Nashville Predators, Wideman took a nasty -- yet legal -- check into the?boards, which left him holding his head as he headed for his bench.On his way, the six-foot, 202-pound Flames defenseman came upon linesman Dennis Henderson, who was skating backward along the boards in Widemans direction. Suddenly, Wideman raised his stick, cross-checking the official in the back and violently sending him face-first to the ice, knocking him unconscious.Henderson suffered a concussion. As of the date the NHL filed its lawsuit, he still hadnt been cleared to return to work.Wideman later denied any recollection or intention. He said things were hazy after he was checked and blamed his actions on a concussion.Wideman isnt the first athlete to blame violence on head trauma. The defense is popping up in criminal courts across the country, albeit in cases where defendants are claiming long-term brain trauma and are accused of committing grave crimes.In January 2012, for example, Jordan Clemons, a 26-year-old former high school football star argued to a Pennsylvania jury that a decade of hard hits caused him to lose control and slit his ex-girlfriends throat. Clemons blamed his violence in part on the numerous head collisions hed suffered both on and off the field.The jury wasnt moved, however. He was sentenced to death.Blaming head trauma didnt fare well for Nathaniel Fujita either. A Massachusetts jury convicted the 20-year-old former high school wideout in March 2013 for strangling his high school sweetheart. A doctor retained by Fujitas trial team couldnt convince the jury that repeated on-field brain injuries contributed to his violent behavior.Massachusetts doesnt have the death penalty; Fujita got a life sentence.Just this month, former Arkansas and NFL running back Cedric Cobbs used brain trauma as a defense in federal court. He faced a maximum of four years in prison for his involvement in an OxyContin drug ring, but Cobbs received three years probation after convincing the court that repetitive brain trauma played a roll in his criminality and that hed fare better with continued treatment.Cobbs case didnt involve violence. And Clemons and Fujitas cases are different from Widemans in many ways, from the type of violence committed to the authority dolling out punishment. But most notably, unlike in those two cases, Wideman claimed his violence came on the heels of a single concussion rather than after years of repeated head trauma.According to Dr. Wayne A. Gordon, chief of rehabilitation psychology and neuropsychology at the Mount Sinai Brain Injury Research Center in New York, the notion that a concussion could immediately spark a violent attack is simply wrong. Violent behavior is not a common short-term consequence of a concussion, he said.I see individuals who are months post- or years post-injury, and, yes, some become agitated for no reason. They lash out at people. They become more angry, Dr. Gordon said over the phone from his Manhattan offices. But those are long-term issues. Theyre not things that emerge immediately.In fact, peer-reviewed medical research backs Dr. Gordon. The research indicates that agitation, poor emotional regulation, difficulty exercising physical control -- some of the factors that could produce violent behavior -- are long-term consequences of concussions. Nothing indicates that these consequences appear moments after a concussion.The two neurologists the NHLPA hired for Widemans case -- who had examined Wideman via FaceTime four days after the hit -- argued otherwise.One of the doctors testified at Widemans arbitration hearing that the concussed often suffer impulse-control difficulties in the immediate postconcussion phase. He believed Wideman couldnt have intended to harm the official because somebody whose brain is not forming cohesive plans is unable to suppress inappropriate behaviors. The other neurologist echoed those sentiments, adding little.If widely adopted, this theory posited by Widemans neurologists -- that bad behavior is an immediate postconcussion symptom -- could create a slippery slope for athletes.Widemans defense hinged on the notion that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between concussions and craze -- that head trauma converts players from being rational beings with self-restraint into lethal animals without self-control. If that were the case, concussed players could have to prove that they are not ticking time bombs post-impact.The concussed could have to persuade their teams that they wouldnt need to be quarantined, sway their spouses to believe its safe for them to be alone with their children, or even convince health insurers that they wouldnt pose a danger to themselves or others such that higher premiums would be necessary.The concussion defense also could be subject to abuse. A hockey or perhaps football player could use it as a convenient excuse should they lash out violently during a game. And such abuse could effectively undermine the rules of organized sports -- rules that are in place to keep players safe, encouraging participation.Many potential dangers could come from allowing concussions to excuse violent behavior like in Widemans case. The arbitrators decision endorsing the concussion defense could be that catalyst. Yes, it is just one decision by one arbitrator (who the NHL has since dismissed for undisclosed reasons). But the decision could be persuasive in other sports arbitration hearings, which often rely on prior arbitration rulings as guidance.If the decision stands, it might be just a matter of time before the defense that helped Wideman avoid a 20-game suspension begins to work to his detriment and that of other players.Adrienne Lawrence is an attorney with a B.S. and M.A. in criminal justice, as well as a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School. She practiced law from 2008 to 2015 before joining ESPN in August 2015. Shawn Kelley Jersey . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. 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LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. NEW YORK -- It was at Flushing Meadows 12 months ago that Johanna Konta enjoyed her breakthrough run and, on the evidence of her opening win here she is primed for a renewed challenge.The British No. 1 dispatched Olympic mixed doubles champion Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3, 6-3 in 82 minutes on the US Opens bumper new Grandstand court to progress to round two, where she will face Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova.The second womens match of the day on Grandstand, there were few fans watching -- most had filed into a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium to see pop star Phil Collins usher in the venues new $150 million roof with an Opening Night performance.I was hoping I could hear him, but not clear enough, Konta told a press conference. 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