Violence in Hockey

As Commissioner of the National Quidditch League, I have come to the conclusion to make rule changes to insure the safety of our athletes. The NQL is one of the country’s most popular and highest revenue leagues. We have a duty to uphold ethical standards to set a good example for our young fans. In conversations with doctors, players, owners, and some fans, the league office has decided to enact some new policy changes. The most important policy changes enacted are that all players must now where helmets, a new concussion protocol, and players who intentionally target opposing players will be at risk for fines and suspension. Some may feel that the character of the game is being threatened by these new rule changes. However, the safety of our athletes is much more important. We are confident that these new changes will further demonstrate why the NQL is one of our country’s most popular leagues. Lastly, as a league we can no longer claim to display integrity if allow the head injuries to continue.

A controversial issue in sports is contact sports. Which means you have to tackle or sometimes push the person to play. Like football or Lacrosse. People are getting hurt and sometimes it leads to death. It can cause a lot of injuries, in many different places, depending on where they get hit.

Scott Robertson and John Savino were teammates on an adult hockey team. Prior to the start of the game, the teams were warming up i.e. shot around etc. Scott Robertson shot the hockey puck towards the goal, unfortunately the puck missed the goal and hit John Savino in the face near his eye.

Targeting is the main rule that was created to prevent concussions. Targeting is defined as “No player shall target and initiate contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent with the helmet, forearm, fist, elbow or shoulder.” (“Targeting”, 2013). This rule is controversial because it is hard to tell what a defenseless player is as well as where the hit occurred. This rule changed the game by requiring the players to make smarter and safer hits.

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

Professional sports have been in the news for domestic violence for a really long time. Some that may come to your mind could be Ray Rice, Warren Moon, Greg Hardy, and Jose Reyes. Yes, three of these four players are in the National Football League (NFL), but that does not mean that only football players are the ones who have been doing this. The most recent one is Jose Reyes who plays in Major League Baseball (MLB). That is really ones opinion, but some don’t have anything but I slap on the wrist. Commissioners around these leagues usually suspend the player for a couple games until all of the details and videos come out. Ray Rice was suspended two games until they saw evidence then he was suspended for the whole year. Some wanted him banned

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 to me understanding that each and every NFL football player is taught everyday to play hard and hit hard. NFL players know that they are taking a massive risk of getting injured every time they step a foot on a football field, whether it be for a game or just practice. If you have the football in your possession, you should be able to take a hit anywhere on your body, even if it is on your helmet. There is no point in time where a line should be drawn. If a player makes helmet-to-helmet contact unintentionally, he should not be fined as much as if it were intentional.

According to the Centre for Disease Control New Jersey, roughly 1.4 million people sustain traumatic brain injuries in the United States from the result of contact sports. Out of those 1.4 million people, 50,000 die due to the severity of their brain injury.“But brain injury is preventable. Surely given what we already know about the brain and getting at least a glimpse of it’s awesome complexities, we should not be making sport or deliberately trying to do it damage,” says Joan Beck in her article, “Stop Pretending Boxing is a Sport”. Violence in sports should be removed because, it is treacherous to the human body and leads to severe injuries; especially head injuries.

Every sport has its own unique signature that separates it from the rest of the sports world. Baseball has the homerun, basketball has the slam-dunk, golf has the hole in one, and football has the touchdown. But, perhaps the sport with the most distinguished and unique signature is hockey and its fights. However, hockey officials and executives are trying to eliminate the games most distinctive aspect. Yet, because of the recent decline in the amount of fighting in the National Hockey League (NHL) and since a ban on fighting in the NHL could jeopardize the popularity of the sport, eliminating fighting from games may not be necessary. Over recent years, the amount of fighting in NHL games has been on the decline and the role of the one time

Sometimes it is easy to forget the game played on frozen ponds and backyard rinks, and get lost in the overwhelming professional sport known as hockey. However, we strive to remember that hockey became Canada's game because it made our never-ending winter months more bearable . The game gradually became a sport, then an entertainment industry. It seems like the lockout was one of the biggest news stories of the year. Part of the amazing nature of the game is that it's origins are fairly vague. However, we always remember that hockey is our game. It may not be our official sport, like lacrosse is, but hockey is what Canada seems to be most well-known for, and it continues to have immense influence on our free society, with its unique style

Studies from both academic and non-academic has proven that injuries is a problem in minor hockey. Although this may turn hockey into a different game, it takes consideration of children’s safety. Since their body strength has not been developed fully, injuries such as concussions can lead to sequelae. This will highly affect their childhood, especially for children in Canada where they are proud to play hockey. As a result, it is rational that Hockey Canada and other organizations should ban body checking in minor hockey.

"I went to a fight the other night and a hockey game broke out." Rodney Dangerfield. Ever since the start to the game of hockey, violence has always played a role in the sport. While that role both contributing positive and negative aspects to the game, violence has taken its toll on not only the players but the fans as well. As violence in hockey is as many fans say part of the game and what makes “hockey” hockey, the negative outcomes overweigh the positive. From fights to brawls, slashes to high sticks, boarding to head contact the violence surrounds the entire game. As fans cheer and rant at their full potential when a fight breaks out during a hockey

NHL Hockey and Olympic hockey are very different due to each league having their own style of play. In Olympic hockey Fighting is frowned upon, those who fight receive a penalty match, and will be ejected from the game. In the NHL fighting, is what most fans come to watch fighting allowed and after the fight is over all players involved in the scuffle will be penalized and put into the penalty box? The penalty box is where players have to sit after a fight and other behavior infractions for a certain amount of time.

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.