How to Not Stick it to Them

Last Monday, the old joke about going to a fight and having a hockey game break out came up again, but this time it wasn't so funny. Boston Bruins defenseman Marty McSorley, apparently forgetting he didn't play baseball, raised his stick in the air as if it were a bat and swung at Vancouver Canucks left wing Donald Brashear's head. The egregious (though not entirely unprecedented) whack-heard-round-the-world left Brashear unconscious and twitching on the ice for about 10 minutes, blood streaming from his face. Paramedics had to take Brashear off the ice since he still could not walk. The consequences seemed obvious: Both men would miss games, one from suspension and one from injury.

But matters have been further complicated now that Vancouver police have decided to investigate whether or not the incident warrants criminal charges. Criminal charges--do they take the monster truck folk to court for damaging property? Does a quick leadoff man go to jail for stealing second?

Maybe these statements hold true in Vancouver. After all, anyone who has ever watched a hockey game knows that no one ever fights or slashes. A more ludicrous idea may never have existed within the realm of pro sports. The NHL has given Marty McSorley the serious penalty he deserves--a suspension for the remainder of the season--costing him about $75,000 in salary. Why must the government intervene where it does not belong and make a statement about the issue?

The first big problem with this ordeal is that many people are failing to view the malfeasance in context. The NHL has tacitly allowed this sort of behavior since its inception. Players brawl, hook, spear and bleed and fans buy tickets expecting a WWF-like performance. The league does not suspend people for everyday fights and does not even eject players for such behavior. The players and the league have perpetuated this type of on-the-ice conduct.

McSorley's role as an NHL "goon" or "enforcer" is well-documented. He has been suspended from the league 6 times for actions involving his stick, cross-checking and other "unsportsmanlike" performances. Every team has a player like this: one who attempts to instigate conflict with a star on the opposing squad and put him in the penalty box for five minutes. Even Vancouver has one: Donald Brashear. In fact Brashear has logged 132 penalty minutes this season and averages about five minutes played per minute in "the box." This wasn't little orphan Annie being smackedup side the head.

So where does this leave us? We have two players involved in an on-ice conflict that would not even have made the game notes if the stick was swung seven or eight inches lower. Yet we have local police pondering lock-up for McSorley. But more important than McSorley's fate is the relationship between professional sports and the law.

One's actions within the realm of sports ought to stay subject only to the laws of sports. Marty McSorley did not go up to Brashear in a bar and smack him over the head with an empty Bud Light bottle--he did it in the context of a violent game. More importantly, he did it in a game where both of these individuals were known as brawlers. Canada wanting to prosecute its national pastime for doing what made the sport famous in the first place is even dumber than the Canadian health care system.

Should spearing in the National Football League (a quasi-illegal form of tackling with the crown of one's head) become a criminal offense? Should professional boxer Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini get the death penalty for delivering fatal blows to opponent Duk Koo Kim in their Nov. 13, 1982 title bout? No. These events are part of what comes along with the sport. People may cheat or even flagrantly violate the rules of their sport, but they are doing so within its context. Athletic contests like football, hockey, boxing and others are ones of controlled aggression. It is only natural for this aggression to occasionally become uncontrolled.

The NHL has made the conscious decision to condone fighting at some level--much more so than any other professional league. It faces the consequences of this decision in its day-to-day operations. Hockey has a stigma like no other sport. It is the only sport that does not receive a major network broadcast of its championship games. Incidents like this do not help its reputation. But it has made the decision to allow this behavior at some level, and should deal with the consequences independently.

If the province of Vancouver really wants to do good in this situation, they should meet with NHL commissioner Gary Betman and recommend a change in the game or more draconian action against McSorley. Filing charges sets an ugly precedent for sports and will do little in terms of changing game play in hockey.

Brad R. Sohn '02 is a government concentrator in Kirkland House. His column will now appear on alternate Mondays.