Violence in Hockey
Violence in HockeyViolence in Hockey
The game of hockey is a violent one where men play with all of their hearts. Sometimes these men let their emotions take control and act in a way that is unusual and inappropriate. Violence has been apart of hockey as long as the game has been played and violence in the NHL is tolerated to a certain extent. But when violence causes injury to other players, the NHL takes harsh and stern measures to correct the problem. This essay will further investigate the violent acts caused by Marty McSorley, Gary Suter and what the NHL is doing and what they can do to prevent violence in the game.
Marty McSorley is a prime example of a competitor in the NHL who has used extreme acts of violence in the past. McSorley was a defenseman on the Boston Bruins during the 1999/2000 season. On February 21, 2000 the Vancouver Canucks were playing host to a struggling Boston Bruins team who was out of a playoff spot and were only going downwards. There was twenty seconds left in the game with the pitiful Bruins down 5-2 when the assistant coach of the Bruins Jacques Laperriere sent the �tough guy� on the ice to send a message to the Canucks that the Bruins will never quite no matter what the score or time. McSorley was all ready aggravated form a fight that took place earlier on in the game with McSorley on the losing end of the battle with Donald Brashear. Marty McSorley knew that the Bruins were not going to win, so there was nothing else to lose. With three seconds left in the lop sided game, McSorley approached Brashear on the Canucks blue line and gave him a two handed chop across his head with his stick. Brashear fell to the ice and hit his head with enough force to nock him unconscious. The players on the ice at the time took exception to this and a brawl broke out between the Canuck players and the Bruin players. Once the referees sorted out the mess and the game was over, the commissioner of the NHL Gary Bettman went right to work sorting out McSorley�s punishment. Once the dust had cleared and everything had settled down, the boss gave McSorly a 23 game suspension that would last the rest of the regular season along with a $72,000 fine. If the punishment laid out by the NHL was not enough Marty McSorley was charged with assault with a weapon on Tuesday March 7, 2000 and had to appear before the British Columbia Provincial Court. After a week in court judge Bill Kitchen handed Marty McSorley an 18 month conditional discharge, which would not allow McSorley to play against Brashear during this time. After the trial judge Kitchen said �everyone must understand that this type of violence will not be tolerated either...
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