Quote:
Originally Posted by GioforPM
Well some players have been charged - McSorly, Ciccarelli, Bertuzzi, Williams, etc. and some were convicted.
I think the law is that sports aren't immune to criminal laws like an assault (which is defined as use of force which is not consented to). However, by participating in the sport you impliedly consent to use of force even where its a breach of the rules, because you know there are penalties that occur in the sport. That said, there is conduct which is beyond what participants ever expect and those acts would be chargeable.
That hit last night? No.
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That is really interesting, I want to look into this more.
And to refocus the conversation, the message in my OP is not necessarily that criminality be the ideal avenue to enforce rules on the ice, but that current enforcement methods fall short of preventing some over-the-top, egregious acts that are both malicious and deliberate.
Applying this to the incident last night,
we need not pursue criminal charges against Ritchie, but what other enforcement methods can be invoked to prevent such dirty plays?
Also, thanks for the list Gio! I didn`t know there were so many instances where convictions were reached.