Quote:
Originally Posted by Teroy
Been a Flames fan forever but there is no doubt in my mind that Wideman did it deliberately. Don't give me the bull about "watch his feet". Watch his arms; he definitely drives his arms and stick into the linesman. Quit defending someone who acted like a thug because he had a good record. He did it. He deserved the suspension and is lucky he didn't get more.
|
This post and others like it bug me. It's quite clear that there are several different but valid viewpoints on this. I still think that Wideman's statements are not inconsistent (one can barely remember an incident days after it happened, and be woozy or whatever and give a statement like "I only saw him at the last minute" without lying). But I can also recognize, without dismissing them, the completely reasonable arguments of those who differ.
On another topic, I see that the arbitrator has wider powers of review than the court of appeal in a civil lawsuit. It looks as though he can simply disagree with the conclusion reached by Bettman as opposed to having to find a legal error.
Again, I think though that the choice is no suspension (because it was accidental) or lengthy suspension (because it was intentional abuse of an official). There's no room for "reckless but unintentional" in the rules, and IMO there's no "minor" abuse of an official, unless it's maybe angrily trying to shake off a linesman who is grabbing you in a fight.