Hockey ... Bad Influence/ Example for Kids?

Radioguy

Hi Folks:

It has been likely more than 20 years since I watched a complete NHL game from beginning to end. The violent nature which seemed to emerge around that time just drove me away from a great game that I used to enjoy playing as a kid.

Yes, hockey has always been a rough & tumble sport. The speed, teamwork, agility, setting up of plays, great saves by the goalie, etc are wonderful aspects of the game. Gretzky is a prime example of sportsmanship and proficient play.

It has been my position for years that the NHL has perverted the game of hockey, and damaged the personalities of many a young person in their developing years.

This latest episode in Vancouver, BC is fuel for my argument.

The only reason Mr. Bertuzzi was crying on camera is that his gravy train just derailed ... simple as that!

He's spent years punching people as a way to settle disputes. A certain segment of the population has been fawning over him for years, telling him how great it was that he "stood up for himself" by fighting on the ice. Crowds of fans clap, scream, and yell when a fight breaks out. Even more than when a goal is scored. Sort of like the Romans screaming for blood.

He has not undergone a sudden transformation because he finally hurt somebody seriously as if it were a good-natured child's prank that somehow went just a little too far.

The reverence and tolerance for fighting in the NHL is just not acceptable. Sort of the same way that enjoying committing rape is quite different than having sex with your loving partner.


All of the players who became involved in the fight preceding this and other incidents should have been given season penalties and their salaries surrendered. A second offence would bring a lifetime ban from organized play at any level of the game.

Holding these overpaid punks up as social icons galls me.

The example set by them on how to deal with problems in life would have you going into the bank to get a loan, you get declined, so you grab the Loan's Officer by the throat and pound him in the face til he changes his mind!

Frankly, I hope Bertuzzi goes to jail. Maybe he can use his skills to fight his way out of the can when somebody is holding a shiv to his neck.

Regards,
Lee Smith

macr

I was appalled by the actions of Bertuzzi and yes he should go to jail. We don't see ice hockey over here very much but they did show that low act.
Unfortunately there is a very apt joke about this sport.
I went to a fight the other day and a game of ice hockey broke out!

TimOBrien

All of the "professional" sports in the last 20-30 years have degraded themselves by converting over to punks.

Parents, teach your kids to read instead....

Magnaflux

Let me get this straight, You can be fined up to half a million dollars now for saying #@$#!@ on the radio yet a Hockey team gets slapped with a $250K fine for deliberately breaking someone’s neck?????

knight of Ni

I was at the game Monday night and can say, yes the hit wasn't Bert's most shining moment, however the events following could never have been forseen (Moore passes out, his head slumps down, and Bert, clinging to Moores jersey, follows him down, and lands awkwardly on his head/neck, not to mention the Avs players dog piling on helped any either, last time I heard tis\rd party to a fight was an automatic suspension for at least 2 games)...
I am not disgusted by Bert's "visiciousness" but the NHL officals for only helping to create the media circus that is now ensuing...
If you look at the articles carfully, Mr. Moore (and I use the term mister very loosely, as he has very little to be proud of as well) he has only suffered 2 FRACTURED vertebrae and a mild concussion, and will be walking out of the hospital under his own power in a few days with the aid of a neck brace. There has been no damage to his spinal cord whatsoever (no matter how hard the US media would like to try and make you think so..)
This event sounds very similar to an event that happened a few weeks earlier where Markus Naslund almost suffered the same fate (doctors said 2 inches to the right and he would have suffered the same fate as Moore now stands in).

FOR SHAME to the media for not shedding light on the NHL's incompetance as to refereeing and enforcing regulations on a consistant basis...

If Moore had been penalised as he should have been, he would not have even been at monday's game, and this whole situation would not have transpired.

I HAVE LOST MY RESPECT FOR PROFESSIONAL SPORT ORGANIZATIONS, bu not the athletes who play them...

BTW if nobody can remember, a hockey legend, "Rocket" Richard got suspended for a similar act in the 60's loosing the Stanley Cup for the Habs that year..... hmmmmm wonder why nobody has mentioned this.....

Dax

I live in Vancouver. And I have met bert before at a game. He is the nicest guy you could ever meet. I was waiting for this topic to show up so I could vent. I stand firmly behind the fact the bertuzzi did not want to hurt thay guy, he wanted to fight him. Bert and nazz are good friends on and off the ice, and if someone did what Moore did to nazzi to one of my friends I would want to throw a few punches too. The events that led up to the incident we this, Bert pushed and shoved Moore and chalenged him to a fight, Moore knew he was going to get his but wiped so he skated away like a coward, and bert threw a sucker punch from behind. Now that was a cowardly act I admit, but if Moore had taken his medicine he would have gotten off with a black eye and he would learn to respect to leagues top scorers.

If you ask me the person to blame for this whole thing is the colorado coach, WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY would you put a player who you know has a target the size of a bus on his back out with 6 mins to go in a game where one team is loosing by 8 points????????? WHY?

Besides, he could have thrown that punch 10 more times and it wouldn't have resulted in the same thing. Its a fluke that moore got knocked out in one punch, and if they had fell a diffrent way, he wouldn't have been seriously injured, and if the avs didn't pile on top he probably wouldn't have been hut so bad.

If you ask me the decision to suspend him for the season and not 10 games is a political one inspired by the fact that the league is re-negotiating its TV contract with the US right now and doesn't want to be seen as condoning violance. Couple this with the posible lock out next season, I think that the decision was unfair. I you look back at the 10 'worst' hits in the history of the game, almost all the hits that result in suspensions of this length involved a weapon (stick) this should have been a 10 game not a season suspension. I feel that the media is showing todd in an unfair light aswell. He realy is a nice person, and the notion that he was crying because he is gonna lose a measly $ .5mil is a joke, he has more than enough $$$ to quit today and live like a rich man. I believe he is truly sorry for hurting the kid.

newracer

If Moores hit on Naslund was so wrong and brutal then why didn't any Canuk player respond to it during the 5 periods of Hockey prior to Mondays game? Why didn't the NHL suspend Moore? Or even a penalty called? Moore's hit cannot even be compared to what Bertuzzi did to him. It wasn't an awkward landing either, Bertuzzi drove his heard into the ice with his left arm.

Let me hear you say "only two fractured vertebrae" if it happened to you.

The worst part about this is that the Canuks as a team said that a bounty was on Moores head. They admitted that they were out to deliberatly hurt another player, that's just wrong.

newracer

Morre already stood up in the first period and won the fight. I didn't see Bertuzzi challenging Moore at all. There was another player down in the Av's end pushing and slashing at Moore but not Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi simply tracked Moore down, followed him around for a few seconds and then punched him.

You don't hide a player because you think he may get hurt. If he didn't dress that game then everybody would be calling him and Colorado cowards. Besdies There were already 7 periods of hockey prior to this incident for the Canuks to respond, including a fight with Moore.

I think the suspension is justified. Moore isn't going to play again this season, Bertuzzi shouldn't either.

DaveSawers

Hockey is a disgrace as a professional sport for not banning and severely fining players for deliberate acts of aggression.

There is no need for hockey to be a contact sport any more than basketball, soccer or virtually any other team sport. In most sports, if aggressive contact occurs, a penalty results. Deliberate aggression is treated the same as common assault and is dealt with by the law.

It should be the same in hockey. It's long overdue for a few of these so called sportsmen to end up in jail.

Sport Flyer

Hockey is Canada's great oxymoron. Overall we tend to be a very civilized bunch UNTIL someone drops a puck at center ice. As a kid I played organized hockey up to Juniors and to show for it I have a 7 unit bridge in my mouth, a crooked nose and several scars that according to some, helped to build character. As an adult I tried my hand at commercial hockey for a while but didn't really find the slashing, spearing etc worth it when, after it was all said and done, everyone still had to go to their respective jobs the next day.

I have mixed emotions over the Moore hit. The hockey barbarian in me thinks he brought it on himself. It was payback for the Naslund elbow. Bertuzzi was pulling on his sweater for half the length of the ice and Moore didn't turn to face him. He was a coward. Bertuzzi was tripped and did not deliberately slam Moore into the ice. This is the action that most likely did the most damage. On the other hand, Moore certainly didn't deserve to be knocked out cold and have his neck broken and there is no such thing as 100% recovery from severe concussion or a broken neck.

Now with all that said, the violence presently in hockey SHOULD NOT exist period. We bully-proof our schools and try and teach violent or aggressive kids anger management techniques. We have laws to prevent people from bashing each others brains out on the street. Yet, for whatever reason, we allow hockey players to duke it out nightly in every level of hocky past the bantam level (age 14). Hockey players at the professional level can make millions per year. I'm afraid this is the lesson kids are most likely to take to heart.

ICTHRMLS

Basketball a non-contact sport? Not since the 60's maybe. I suppose you could play no-touch hockey... shoot, why not NFFL too? (National Flag Football League) Truth is contact in sports sells and unless the fans demand that contact stops by NOT attending events the leagues will continue to showcase the product the fan wants.

I feel fighting has a definite place in the sport of hockey as bound by certain unwritten rules known to those who participate. Momentum swings, team play and game atmosphere can all change with one good honest bruhaha between two willing combatants. Fighting on skates is an art and a talent in spite of the repugnant nature to some people. Gone are the days of the pure "enforcer" or "goon" from team rosters - you still have to be able to skate and contribute to your teams success. If you can also stand up for your team and teammates.... so be it.

With all that said.... the blindside hit by Bertuzzi was unacceptable in every sense of the hockey fighting world and my own little gray area of what I like about hockey. The media exploited this for sensational purposes and hearing the description from a friend vastly differed from the replay I eventually saw on the tube. The "continual face bashing into the ice" simply did not happen. The suspension will be just and we will soon forget and move on to other things.

An aside to Lee Smith..... your passionate view point is noted but rarely do you see a professional hockey player ever be considered a social icon.

Sport Flyer

They are up here, the same way many baseball or basketball players are revered on your side of the border. And also, while most adults see professional athletes for what they are its the kids who will most likely hold them up to "icon" stature. While growing up I literally worshipped the likes Dave Keon, Ron Ellis, Yvan Cournoyer, Frank and Peter Mahovlich and Ken Dryden, of course. Hockey may be just a passing fancy for many Americans, but in Canada it is our national sport and a major part of how many Canadians define who we are.

Greg Smith

Please note where I live.

What's the difference between a NHL game and a dog fight?
They don't let the dogs have sticks.

I have been utterly disgusted with professional hocky for years. Yes other sports are rough but they police themselves far better.

I don't blame Bertuzzi as much as I blame the NHL brass, including the owners. As IC points out in his chilling, disturbing defense of thugs and violence above, Bertuzzi was likely working within his understanding of the sick system. It's the system and those who have the gaul to support and defend it who are most responsible.

I don't support this sport, don't watch it, don't let my kids watch it. I turned down an invitation once from the owners of the Red Wings to watch a game from their box for free as a matter of principal. I have no use for anyone who declares themselves or their "sport" to be not bound by the rules of civilized behavior and above the law.

ICTHRMLS

Greg - I can empathize with your distaste of hockey as I too dislike many aspects of some sports. While there are certain truths about the sport of hockey you deem unacceptable I would hardly consider them chilling and disturbing... nor would I consider my opinion to be either. If fighting was banned in the sport of hockey today - so be it since the rules are the same for everyone. To say that...
would imply that you can read minds. I doubt anyone will truely know why he chose that path at that time except him. As I posted... I do NOT agree with his actions. I will say you are doing the best thing you can at this point by not participating at any level. That is a freedom in which too many people fail to excercise, whether it be literature, music, movies or sports..... if it offends - don't watch/listen to it.