Additional Statistics on the Impact of Fighting

Back in January I posted an article – More Facts and Less Emotion – that presented available facts on how fighting and fighters impacted the game of hockey.   I think that it is important to take emotion out of the argument and stop using perception as a valid reason to resist change.  With that in mind I have done some additional analysis that hopefully convinces NHL execs, coaches and fans to step back and focus on what is happening  versus what could happen.

In Their Own Words

The past year has been a tough one for the NHL enforcer.  Three highly publicized deaths and countless articles written about bringing about an end to fighting, and their future employment in the NHL.  It’s pretty obvious that I am in the anti-fighting camp but I won’t pretend to understand what these fighters go through.  So let’s hear from them regarding the job, and the impact on their lives.

Because It's The Right Thing To Do

As par of my ongoing research I came across this article that was published 3 years ago in the Sault Star.  It was simple, straight forward and focused on common sense to make the point that fighting should be eliminated from hockey.  Because it's the right thing to do.

An Open Letter to Gary Bettman

Last week an organization known as League of Fans sent an open letter to Gary Bettman calling for a ban on fighting in hockey.  League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to encourage social & civic responsibility in sports industry & culture.   You can visit their website here.  After a conversation with Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director for League of Fans, I agreed to repost the letter on my site and hopefully give them some additional visibility.  

What Are We Fighting For Again?

Lots of media coverage this week in response to Ralph Nader’s open letter to Gary Bettman (available here).   The comment section attached to any of the online articles on this story was full of fans defending fighting because “it makes players accountable”.  So let’s take 11 recent hockey fights at random and look at them in detail to see if we can understand the crucial role of the enforcer.

NHL's Rule 46

NHL’s Rule 46 deals with fisticuffs and when you read through the almost 2,500 words in detail you can clearly see that it is written to tolerate fighting and doesn’t deal harshly enough with the combatants.   There is too much flexibility in defining what constitutes a fight, and how players should be dealt with.   Let’s see if we can help the NHL figure out how to give the referees more clarity, and maybe cut down on the size of their rule book.