Hockey Violence Essay

Hockey has always been known to be a physical sport; it is full of body checks, hits from behind, sometimes the misuse of the hockey stick, and even fights. Now all off these are deemed acceptable by hockey fans to a certain extent. When a player swings his stick at another player and an injury occurs to the opposing man the instigator can usually expect to be penalized for a short amount of time, maybe even a suspension from the team for a few games. But when does this violent act on the ice become a criminal offence? Does it take for the recipient to break his neck, or maybe even loose his vision for us to take a serious look at what happened and realize that this is not what we are looking to watch when we sit down to watch a game.

The competitive nature of today's sports associations calls for athletes to be aggressive and forceful , both physically and mentally. This aggressive mentality stays with some athletes off the field, and may explain why so many athletes are committing violent crimes.

Injuries impact the school life, profession, and the approach to society of a player. It slows down the natural ability of one to obtain and accomplish their aspirations in life, such as academics achievements or relationship goals (Dr. Echlin, 2014). Physicality and toughness are important factors in sports, especially in hockey. In a sport that is nearing a century old, who dare prohibit the originality of it? But with prolific past injuries on players caused by malicious hits, such as Todd Bertuzzi’s infamous check on Steve Moore in ’04 or superstar Sidney Crosby’s year-long concussion in ’10-11, speculation has started to gather regarding the complete exertion of violence in the NHL. With over 50% of players getting injured each year and

In the event that a player makes a dirty hit on a skilled player, the enforcer’s role is to send a message to the other team. For fear that a skilled player will be hurt and unable to play, an enforcer will take matters into his own hands. As a result, skilled players feel protected and can do their job of scoring goals more effectively. All things considered, fighters are there for protection, not violence. Fighting as part of the game reduces injuries drastically. At the present time, fighting in the NHL is being heavily debated and there are two very different sides to the argument. In the meantime, with the stricter regulations against fighting, NHL injuries are at an all-time high. My coach, Kelly Chase—a retired NHL enforcer—says that with concussions being such a focus in sports, only 2% of the ones in the NHL are caused by fights. The other 98% are caused by dirty hits. In the background of the controversy, the game has evolved to where fighting is not an enforcer’s only role on the team. Beyond a reputation for being tough, an enforcer good hockey player. All things considered, fighters are here for protection, not

It is not clear if on-field violent behavior leads to off-field violence. It would be somewhat logical to assume that people who become accustomed to using physical intimidation and violence in sport naturally revert to those behaviors when facing conflict outside of sport. However, sport may not be the cause of violence, but rather a result of the athletes’ upbringing or natural disposition, which led them to choose a violent sport to begin with. Drug and alcohol use should also be noted, since they and not sport may be the cause of violence. Alcohol consumption and binge drinking add to the problem of

To understand what the public believes on violence in sports, a survey was conducted among American youths ages 13 to 17 in October of 2000. The Gallup Youth Survey showed that 63 percent of teens said there was too much violence in hockey. In comparison, 41 percent said football was too violent, 25 percent said basketball was too violent, and 17 percent said baseball was too violent. One question that remains though is how does one qualify violence. A study completed in December 2000 by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Research tried to do just that. According to the test analysis, 1.69 "acts of aggression" occurred in hockey for every aggressive act in basketball, the only other sport in the study (Grant).

Fighting has been a part of the NHL since 1922 and it has had a huge impact on the game of hockey and the sport wouldn't be the same without it. There are a lot of injuries involved with fighting but if fighting wasn’t in pro hockey then there would probably be a lot more injuries. Some players would be more chippy and run at people and get away with it without facing the consequences for it. Fighting also has a key part in motivating a team if they aren’t playing well.

There are many images that the word hockey conjures up. Gen X-ers might remember “Game on!” from Wayne’s World, while San Antonians might think of hockey as the “other” sport played in the AT&T center. Edward McClelland’s article “Blame Canada! Fighting Has Turned Hockey Immoral” attempts to explore the differences between National Hockey League (NHL) and international styles of play and call for reforms to the current practices in the NHL. In order to evaluate McClelland’s article thoroughly, it is important to consider the use of rhetorical strategies and structure.

Of course the biggest reason for the idea of banning fighting in hockey is for player safety and trying to minimize potentially severe injuries. Players of the sport know what their getting into when they take the ice night in and night out. Players take on full responsibility and many believe it needs to be in hockey as it has always been

Football is the athletic roots of the United States of America’s pastime. It’s part of the culture and history of this nation. It helped shape the way Americans watch sports today. But in today’s world the game has changed. It is changing this nation, and these players, both on and off the field. Concussions, on the field, have become a major commodity, and it raises the question of if it is really worth the risks of what can become of head injuries. Off of the field, there is also an up and coming problem and the NFL is taking a lot of heat for it. Domestic abuse cases are popping up left and right, involving NFL players. Maybe these cases are a coincidence, but maybe there is a relationship between the sport and

Violence in sports is central in measuring success in American culture. The harder he hits that the defensive players lay on their offensive counterparts, the more that fans enjoy watching them play. I can see a correlation between hard hitting defensive players and their popularity during their careers. NFL players, such as Ray Lewis and James Harrison, have made careers out of being the most physical players on the field. Lewis and Harrison’s devastating hits have injured opponents and many people believe they are the top linebackers in the game.

Fighting in the National Hockey League(NHL) has been an ongoing brutal way of getting fans excited. The past years the number of fights have dropped, with only 344 fights last season, the fewest number within the past 15 years (Adam Vingan). For those people who oppose fighting this comes as good news, as this area of the Hockey has been investigated heavily. In 1922, rule 56 was introduced into the National Hockey League which was supposed to regulate the fighting in the NHL and was called the official NHL rulebook(Wikipedia). Still today we have fighting in the National Hockey league even with rule 56 strictly enforced. It’s not just the fighting that’s the problem anymore, it’s the concussions and other side effects/injuries from it. Players are suffering far greater head trauma each time they get in a fight which further on in life leads to multiple health problems. If fighting were to be banned in the NHL, would it still be the same? Some may say yes, but others speculate no. For now, fans don’t see any changes coming soon so why not enjoy it better yet play it. Though pro-hockey is a sport known for its violence, it is a great career for the players that can make it into the pros. It is a great career because it provides a great income, the athletes thrive on the physicality of the sport, and it is growing in popularity worldwide.

THESIS: Contact sports have been here since the medieval times. Soccer was also already being put into sport use by china in the dynasties. Implied, players on both teams have agreed to be hit, pushed, shoved, and possibly fought. What can be used for considering when or where a player crosses the line? Using examples from previous court cases, we will examine how players in the NHL could be charged when excessive force against other players in the opposite team come into play. Having hockey being used for an example, we will examine and look at the rules of the NHL, as well as how Todd Bertuzzi from the Vancouver Canucks stepped over the line, and was charged with assault.

is very true when dealing with a physical contact sport like hockey. There is a

Playing fair does is nice but it does not sell tickets. Note the popularity of a Dennis Rodman during his heyday as a player for the Chicago Bulls. At one point he physically hurt a cameraman. Dennis was given a slap on the hand, a fine and some suspended days, but he was not permanently expelled from the game. Hockey is another sport that is well known for the violence of its players. Fans revel in the violence of the sport. Players are specifically hired to act as "goons" or "enforcers". Players who commit a violent act have to sit in a penalty box, but the cheers and enthusiasm of fans upon witnessing the violent plans ensure that such plays are destined to be repeated.