The recent incident in a minor hockey league where a player appears to have deliberately hurt another player is a sharp (or is it stark) reminder of how violent our so-called 'national game' can become.
Every times this occurs there are calls for reducing violence in the game especially at the minor league level. Tinkering may occur but violence is still there.
YOu know really only one league has to reduce violence in its game and everyone else will follow. There is no point in junior hockey leagues reducing violence if players' role models play in a league that allows violence. Commentators who report on that league invariably keep up the old line that 'violence is part of the game'. Certain elements of crowds get an adrenalin rush when a fight occurs.
The fact that the National Hockey League allows violence to occur is the 'cause' of other leagues doing the same.
Without giving it a lot of thought I think a solution is for the NHL to set the standard of what is acceptable conduct on the ice. Any action which violates criminal law in Canada or the United States if performed 'off ice' should be prohibited 'on ice'.
If the NHL ever adopted that standards it would have to agree to impose heavy suspensions on violators no matter who they are, or how popular they may be, and be willing to take a short term financial impact were some fans choose not to go to a 'cleaner version' of the game.
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That sounds reasonable Dave. However, players have said they were in fact encouraged, or hired with the very purpose, to be violent. Its all about "marketing", or what seems to be gratifying the lowest denominator in any group. The more outrageous, the more interesting, compelling, newsworthy.
ReplyDeleteOf course, women can be/are violent sometimes. But it does seem that many male gendered activities have a high level of violence. It's really gratifying to see/hear a man speak out against it. My husband plays hockey and he's very against the pressure on kids to develop fighting skills rather than hockey skills. I love to watch him skate - it's like watching someone dance. The balance and finese with speed is really impressive. Too bad there wasn't more interst in, or encouragement, to develop the more interesting aspects of hockey.