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Banished? McSorley suspended for remainder of season, playoffs
Posted: Wednesday February 23, 2000 11:39 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- The NHL struck back at Marty McSorley. The Boston Bruins enforcer was suspended Wednesday for at least the rest of the season for his stick attack on Vancouver's Donald Brashear -- the harshest penalty ever for on-ice violence. McSorley, who struck Brashear in the head Monday night with a two-handed swing, will miss Boston's final 23 regular-season games, and the playoffs if the last-place Bruins make the postseason. "We must continue to be vigilant when there are acts that cross the line," commissioner Gary Bettman said. "In response to a clearly inappropriate act, the league acted firmly and decisively." The suspension will cost McSorley $72,000 in salary. "We always try to make a statement in whatever we do because we don't want it to happen again," said vice president Colin Campbell, who handed out McSorley's punishment. "We're trying to right a wrong." McSorley's shocking attack was an embarrassment to the NHL in the first year of a new television deal with ABC and ESPN. "There isn't a sport that doesn't have incidents," Bettman said. "The true measure is if you have an incident, how you deal with it." The commissioner was quick to point out that stick fouls have declined in recent years and that McSorley's behavior was not the norm. McSorley might still have to answer to Vancouver police, who expect to wrap up their investigation of the attack by next week. The findings will be sent to a prosecutor, who will decide on charges. "We don't think further involvement by the authorities is necessary," said Bill Daly, the NHL's executive vice president and chief legal officer. "We think we dealt with the situation decisively, harshly, and we think that's probably sufficient." The NHL players' union declined comment. McSorley, who apologized repeatedly for the hit that knocked out Brashear, did not attend a scheduled disciplinary hearing at NHL headquarters Wednesday on the advice of his lawyers. Assistant general manager Mike O'Connell represented the Bruins at the meeting. "They made it clear they don't condone what their player did in Vancouver, but they were here to support the player and support the team," Campbell said. Before he can play again, McSorley must meet with Bettman and Campbell, who could decide to extend the suspension. "I think at the appropriate time we have to make sure Marty understands the gravity of the act," Bettman said. Bettman did not speculate on whether the 36-year-old McSorley would return to the NHL for his 18th season. "You'd have to be clairvoyant to know," he said. "He's had a very long NHL career." The blindside swing to Brashear's right temple knocked the 28-year-old forward down, causing him to smack the back of his head on the ice. He sustained a concussion that will sideline him for at least several weeks and perhaps even the remainder of the season, said Canucks general manager Brian Burke. "McSorley has always been known as an honest and tough player, but this is something he'll have to live with the rest of his life," Burke said. Campbell stressed that Brashear's health was "the most important factor" in the severity of McSorley's punishment. "He probably still doesn't know what happened unless someone told him or he saw a replay," Campbell said. The longest previous suspension was 21 games given to Washington's Dale Hunter for a blindside check of the New York Islanders' Pierre Turgeon after a goal in a 1993 playoff game. There have been longer suspensions for drug use. McSorley, who signed with Boston in December, is in the last year of his contract and is believed to want to return next season. "Marty was a player who arrived upon the scene as a tough hockey player and his toughness opened the door to become a skilled hockey player," said Campbell, who was McSorley's coach when the defenseman played with the New York Rangers. "It's unfortunate this had to rear its ugly head near the end of a pretty good hockey career." McSorley said he was just trying to goad Brashear into a fight at the end of Vancouver's 5-2 victory over Boston on Monday night. They had fought in the first period, with Brashear -- another of the league's heavyweights -- clearly getting the upper hand. McSorley received a match penalty for attempt to injure and was suspended indefinitely Tuesday, pending the hearing. Brashear was also involved in a goal-mouth tangle in Monday's game that caused a knee injury to Bruins goalie Byron Dafoe. Campbell determined from watching replays that Brashear did nothing intentional to hurt Dafoe. "Mr. McSorley's act is entirely unacceptable," Campbell said. "It would be grossly unfair to suggest that his conduct is at all representative of the game, of the other 700 players who play in the NHL or of the countless others who play hockey at all levels."
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