The Trouble with Hockey

Todd Bertuzzi is a forward with the Detroit Red Wings. He should not be. He should not be in the National Hockey League at all. He should be in jail, or at least under a heavy probation. At the very least, he should have been permanently barred from the NHL. That he is not tells us what's wrong with the sport of hockey today.

Most fans of the game know about Bertuzzi. He was involved in a famous incident in which he viciously attacked Colorado player Steve More from behind, causing him severe injuries and apparently ending the man's career (he has not played since). Though there have been civil suits filed against him and the league disciplined him (the fourth longest suspension in its history), Bertuzzi suffered no criminal penalty.

He should have. What happens on the ice (or playing field, arena, stadium, and so on) is as subject to criminal prosecution as anything on the street. If Bertuzzi had have mugged Moore off ice he would have surely faced assault charges. Yet as hockey fans will, Detroiters have accepted Bertuzzi into their hearts with no regard to his tactics and history.

It is bad enough that hockey tolerates fighting as 'part of the game'. No other sport that I know (outside of actual fighting matches of whatever ilk) allows fighting. You get kicked out of the game if you do. Hockey ought to treat it similarly if it wants any credibility for itself as a sport.

I do not doubt that Bertuzzi is sincerely remorseful about the incident. I do not deny that, relative to the game and his own earning capacity, he has faced significant trial and financial harm. Yet it ought to be worse than it is. He wrecked a man's life. He should be held more accountable for his actions.