A perfect example would be the state of the NFL over the past few years. Ever since Roger Goodell took over in 2006, there has been a concerted effort to increase player safety and to rid the league of players behaving in criminal acts. I have little doubt in my mind that there is some measure of benevolence involved in Goodell’s governance.
Nevertheless, I am sure money continues to be a major inducement. There are over 1,100 former football players, including Mongo, suing the NFL over brain injuries incurred during their careers. They argue that players were consistently misinformed about the negative effects of head trauma. What’s the best way to combat these charges? By making it seem the NFL is all about player safety and has been from the beginning. They are trying to save themselves hundreds of millions of dollars by getting ahead of the curve.
More importantly, the NFL saw the potential for losing those fans who were tired of watching their stars getting carted off the field with no consequence for the opposing players or team.
What does this have to do with the NHL?
As long as people are paying for tickets to watch players beat the crap out of each other and the NHLPA doesn’t threaten to file suit on behalf of former players, then it’s status quo. They will do just enough to seem like they are doing something, but not what they should be doing, like banning players for life, taking away draft picks, and levying heavy fines.
As a matter of fact, fighting and the crap associated with it should be banned altogether. Yes, I said it.
For those “purists” who believe fighting is just part of hockey, stop it. Really. Fighting had been part of other sports and when it got taken away or curbed those sports did just fine. It’s all about escalation: it starts with the pushing and shoving, then later a smack to the head, then a slash on the hands, then a one-on-one fight, then a brawl.
Or one dirty hit leads to a retaliatory hit where the retaliation gets the guy a 5 game suspension, but the original hit gets nothing.
At some point the fans have to stand together and say that they’ve had it with the inconsistencies, the needless violence and the cheap, petty, whiny thuggery. The fans have to stop buying jerseys, stop buying tickets, stop watching the broadcasts and start making their voice heard. The stakes are just too high.
