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Reactions: Hockey’s danger Users sound off on McSorley’s hit
Posted: Tuesday February 29, 2000 10:00 PM
Marty McSorley's vicious hit on Donald Brashear is giving the NHL and the sport of hockey a black eye. Many users are ready to give up on sport. Others say that all the violence is to be expected. A collection of some of the most interesting responses follows.
Hockey would not be hockey without some fighting. But what McSorley did was criminal. Charges should be brought against him. What would the NHL have done if Bashear had died?
The vicious assault by McSorley is being handled by the NHL in the only way available. Suspension without pay for the remainder of the season may only be the beginning. The loss of salary is going to cost him about $78,000. Besides the loss of income, there is still the possibility of complete banishment from the league. I believe that Commissioner [Gary] Bettman sent a very clear message that blatant violence like this will not be tolerated. I wish that Bud Selig had as much intestinal fortitude in dealing with John Rocker. For all the whining and crying all Rocker got was an extended paid vacation for giving MLB a major black eye and then trying to make the general public believe it was all a mistake. Hats off to Gary Bettman.
McSorley's hit hurt the NHL almost as much as it hurt the player he hit. The NHL has been trying to drop the 100-percent pure violence image for years and project the image that hockey is a highly skilled and artful game. However, when something like this happens, the game is sent right back to the image of pure violence. I have long been an advocate of cleaning up the game and I'm not going to change my beliefs just because it is now a Bruin who acted foolishly.
What Marty did was wrong, no doubt about it. Part of being a professional is keeping your emotions in check at times of extreme stress. Marty was embarrassed due to actions of Brashear after a fight that took place earlier in the game. While I don't believe for a moment that Brashear's actions deserved a vicious blow to the head, he expressed an attitude that is rampant among professional athletes. Lack of respect or lack of code expressed by Brashear played a major role in his getting injured. By no means is he innocent in this or a number other incidents that have taken place in his career. In addition, had he had his helmet on properly the extent of the injury would have far less severe.
Very damaging. This type of conduct is simply unacceptable for anyone -- period. Sports figures, celebrities or politicians are not above the law. This is assault. I enjoy watching hockey but if this type of behavior is condoned, then I won't watch it anymore. I realize that I am only one viewer but one is a start.
The incident surely doesn't help hockey. However, for a sport that allows fighting they surely can't be surprised that something like this happened. This would have never happened if the fight at the beginning of the game did not happen or if they were both thrown out of the game for fighting. Why is it that in every other sport if you fight you get kicked out and fined? In hockey it is expected?
As ugly as that incident was, I have absolutely no idea why this sport should have a black mark against it. You look at all the other major sports, and there are way more thugs than you can think of. The fact is, hockey players are a lot better citizens to the community than football, baseball, and basketball players! People should give hockey a try for once.
The NHL needs to completely reverse its image if it is to gain acceptance as a truly world class organization. I have been a hockey fan all my life and it hurts me to see events like this that destroy a truly fabulous sport. The NHL must move quickly to abolish fighting from hockey. McSorley was attempting to start a fight and went too far with his stick. By abolishing fighting, the NHL cuts out a cancer that has made the league look like pro wrestling. Hockey doesn't need fighting to attract an audience. It is a great game that warrants respect and dignity, but will not get that respect and dignity until fighting and illegal stick work are outlawed completely. Football is a violent game, yet there is no fighting. That is why it enjoys the popularity it has today. It has respect because it doesn't tolerate fighting and illegal acts. It is time for the NHL to learn that lesson.
First of all, I am Canadian, a hockey fan and former amateur official. The Marty McSorley incident is a HUGE black mark on the NHL. However, contrary to what many, many people have said, it is NOT an isolated incident. The NHL, as well as other minor professional and amateur leagues have had numerous incidents of intentional acts of violence in recent years. After each occurrence, the league in question spouts off about how this one too is an isolated incident, not indicative of the type of game that hockey is. Until the legal authorities start treating these "rare" events as the acts of violence they are, and step in to charge the people involved, they will continue. We don't let spousal abuse go unpunished because the "police shouldn't get involved" and we shouldn't allow hockey goons to get away with this abuse because it is simply a part of that "environment."
I think that what Marty McSorley did to Donald Brashear was appalling. Even where fighting is as common as touchdowns in the NFL and there are even technical terms to measure the degree of injury on players, a slash to the temple when a player is not looking is completely out of bounds. McSorley should be banned from hockey, a mere 23 game suspension cannot heal the scars he has inflicted on the league and on Brashear and his family. He tarnished the image of every player and every city which supports a NHL team.
Hockey is a brutal sport, and I do not think anyone believes anything to the contrary. In any sport, you are bound to find thugs of McSorley's type. It is unfortunate, because of possible legal action (see the Latrell Spreewell incident), that McSorley cannot be relieved of his duties as an NHL player permanently. However, I truly believe people are able to distinguish between the true players and the extreme minority of thugs such as McSorley; thus, leading to a wider acceptance. The league has done all that is possible with its swift and decisive action.
I don't feel that this incident is damaging to the NHL's image. It had the potential to be quite damaging, but the league did "the right thing" in handing down a major suspension. Hopefully, the NHL will continue handing out stiff suspensions. I realize that the fighting will continue, which is why I prefer college hockey, but the unsolicited cheap shots that can end a player's career or life have no place in the NHL or any other sport.
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