It really is only a matter of time until it happens here. Hitting is becoming reckless, there are two many agitators that play on the edge of really hurting people. The players are bigger and faster.
It will happen here, and when it does this sport is going to face a nuclear implosion.
Sadly, I agree. Football at the CFL/NFL/NCAA Div 1 level, too. It may not even be a "reckless" play either.
Sadly, I agree. Football at the CFL/NFL/NCAA Div 1 level, too. It may not even be a "reckless" play either.
Yup, part of it is the issue that players are probably twice as fast and as strong as they used to be and they're coached better in terms of the kinetics of hitting.
I will give credit to football, they are trying to get the head out of the tackling play.
But its going to happen.
Bill Masterton's death sparked a huge debate about wearing helmets after the fact, I'm afraid that the NHL will only truly start taking player safety seriously after someone breaks their neck on a dirty hit or has their skull fractured by an elbow.
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Were only talking about banning fighting if someone gets killed during a fight (I am at least)
And if someone gets killed from being tripped and sliding into the boards or the net do we then ban tripping? How about a crosscheck to the ribs that causes someone to end up in a wheel chair? Do we then ban crosschecking? All you freekin dogooders out there who want to BAN!! things because of a freaky-in-in-a-million event really should really worry about bubble wrapping your own lives and not worry about professional hockey. Banning fighting in pro hockey? Sweet geeeezus, do we have to go down that road?
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ESPN Sport Science says that hockey hits are considerably harder than football hits despite hockey players being 25% smaller.
You can't control the unavoidable hit. I.E. someone turning their back.
Part that scares me are morons like Lupal blindsiding helpless guys and nobody caring that much about it because the guy is on a torrid scoring streak.
Sure, he got a suspension, but that is the kind of hit that will cause something like this.
And if someone gets killed from being tripped and sliding into the boards or the net do we then ban tripping? How about a crosscheck to the ribs that causes someone to end up in a wheel chair? Do we then ban crosschecking? All you freekin dogooders out there who want to BAN!! things because of a freaky-in-in-a-million event really should really worry about bubble wrapping your own lives and not worry about professional hockey. Banning fighting in pro hockey? Sweet geeeezus, do we have to go down that road?
I might as well reply to this before you are banned. There is a difference between tripping a guy, and him smacking his head on the ice and dying, and throwing a massive elbow at a guys head, and him dying of a head injury. In the second scenario, the intent was to injur the players head, and that injury lead to the man dying, in the first scenario, the intent is simply to knock the player down.
If you don't understand the disconnect in those two scenarios, this argument is far beyond your ability to debate it.
And if someone gets killed from being tripped and sliding into the boards or the net do we then ban tripping? How about a crosscheck to the ribs that causes someone to end up in a wheel chair? Do we then ban crosschecking? All you freekin dogooders out there who want to BAN!! things because of a freaky-in-in-a-million event really should really worry about bubble wrapping your own lives and not worry about professional hockey. Banning fighting in pro hockey? Sweet geeeezus, do we have to go down that road?
I will give credit to football, they are trying to get the head out of the tackling play.
They didn't really do much either until they they started getting sued for all of it. Nothing gets league off their ass quite like a good lawsuit. That's probably what it will take for the NHL to really do something about hits to the head too.
the dude could of died on the bench from a heart attack. He could of died if he lost his balance and slammed into the boards at full speed, since the boards killed him do you want the boards arrested?
It sucks that the dude lost his life, but everyone of those hockey players know the risks they are assuming when they hit the ice.
lets just ban the sport now
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the dude could of died on the bench from a heart attack. He could of died if he lost his balance and slammed into the boards at full speed, since the boards killed him do you want the boards arrested?
It sucks that the dude lost his life, but everyone of those hockey players know the risks they are assuming when they hit the ice.
lets just ban the sport now
Again, targeted attack to the head with intent to injure (if that truly is what happened) vs. tripping into the boards. Big difference. If a player blatantly and purposefully tripped an opposing player going full tilt chasing down an icing, went head first into the boards, and was killed as a result, I assure you, there would be criminal charges.
Let's make this even more simple. You are in the Biathlon. and you pull up to the target range portion. Instead of aiming at the targets, you aim at the guy 8 seconds ahead of you. No criminal charges then? There was intent, and the gun is part of the competition. Stick and elbows can be used as weapons as well.
By what a lot are saying in this thread, they must think Todd Bertuzzi should have never been charged with what he did to Moore then. He was charged, and plead guilty to assault. Steve Moore is still alive, this fella isn't. Just because you are on the ice in competition, doesn't mean you can assault another player outside of the rules. If you do, and someone dies, you should be prepared to pay the price.
I am all for the big clean hit, or a good tilt, inside of the rules. But intentional head hunting ruining or ending lives, has to be where you draw the line. This isn't Rome, and these guys aren't gladiators that are here to die for our pleasure.
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Early reports are that he didn't die right after the hit, but the following night from a heart attack (supposedly resulted in by the hit). Allegedly he still took some shifts after the hit, but then felt bad and went home.
Edit: A better video is now available:
The hit is at the very border of a frame at 0:56
Looks late to me. You can also see Uchaykin doing typical "it was high elbow" gesture to the referee as he skates away.
Again, targeted attack to the head with intent to injure (if that truly is what happened) vs. tripping into the boards. Big difference. If a player blatantly and purposefully tripped an opposing player going full tilt chasing down an icing, went head first into the boards, and was killed as a result, I assure you, there would be criminal charges.
Let's make this even more simple. You are in the Biathlon. and you pull up to the target range portion. Instead of aiming at the targets, you aim at the guy 8 seconds ahead of you. No criminal charges then? There was intent, and the gun is part of the competition. Stick and elbows can be used as weapons as well.
By what a lot are saying in this thread, they must think Todd Bertuzzi should have never been charged with what he did to Moore then. He was charged, and plead guilty to assault. Steve Moore is still alive, this fella isn't. Just because you are on the ice in competition, doesn't mean you can assault another player outside of the rules. If you do, and someone dies, you should be prepared to pay the price.
I am all for the big clean hit, or a good tilt, inside of the rules. But intentional head hunting ruining or ending lives, has to be where you draw the line. This isn't Rome, and these guys aren't gladiators that are here to die for our pleasure.
I highly doubt that.
Criminal charges are highly unlikely to result from anything that isn't well outside of the accepted incidents of playing the sport. It's called assumption of risk. When you play hockey you accept the risk that you will be hit, tripped or otherwise "assaulted". Even actions that go beyond the rules of the sport are assumed. It's only when those actions go well beyond the scope of the game that legal systems typically step in. The line isn't black and white, but with the number of 'head shots' we see every night I think you'd be hard pressed to argue that anything but the most extreme of them crosses into the realm of being punishable criminally.
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