should hockey thugs go to jail for their excessive violence?

Question

the game the other night between the new york teams is good case!

Answer 1

Definitely no. To the person who said that playing sports is not a liscence to assault someone, you are wrong. What happens in the flow of a hockey game is different from what happens on the street. The NHL can and will police it themselves. How about boxing or the UFC? Wouldn't that be assault? It is a rough game that these men play, crap happens and they know it going in. If Simon is charged then go back and charge every other incident in the NHL, IMO Dale Hunter's was worse, atleast Simon's was in the flow of the game. Keep the law out of the game.
I would actually like to hear Hollweg's opinion. That is the one I am waiting for the most. It says here that I don't think he would say he should be charged. People get all up in arms over this, like the Drury hit-yet Drury is the first to say-tough luck for me. Steve Moore is the exception to the rule and in my opinion he is coming across as a whiny little sissy. Had he been a man and dropped the gloves, it would have never came to that, now he is suing everybody. Get a life Moore, you made hundreds of thousands of dollars and you broke your neck, albeit it was malicious but there are alot worse off people like troops in Iraq or starving children accross the world. Who can they sue? No sympathy whatsoever for that big baby.

Answer 2

No, they should be suspended for a long time and heavily fined. It's part of the sport and sometimes it goes too far, just like any other sport. People always get hurt in sports. Look at UFC, there are rules to protect the fighters and sometimes it goes too far, but nobody goes to jail if they knock someone out. Violence is part of hockey's appeal, there's no need for jail... but insane thugs do need to pay big time.

Answer 3

excessive violence, yes, but that is very rare, fighting is part of the game, and any true fan knows that it is a very, if not one of the most intergral parts of the game. its called testosterone, people need to stop being a fraid of it. the only excessive examples ive seen (i havent seen what happened in the chris simon incident yet), has been that cheap shot sucker punching bastard todd bertuzzi, and marty mcsorely on donald brashear, at least that i can remember over the past 15 years or so

Answer 4

Actually head hunting like that could get him CRIMINAL charges. Fighting though-NO. Checking-NO. Do you want to see Football players in prison because they TACKLE each other?
Double standard? Oh come on. NBA isn't a FULL CONTACT game. It is a low contact at best. Also the fight that was actually front page news was because it went into the stands.At least Hockey doesn't have players going into the stands and punching people.

Answer 5

Absolutely!!! The fact that they are participating in a sporting event is no excuse. Last time I checked, the object of hockey was to score more goals than your opponent.

Hockey is a rough sport, and at times tempers will flare and fights will result. In my mind, there is nothing wrong with that. But what Simon did was not a "fight", but an unwarranted cheap shot with intent to injure.

Answer 6

No. The NHL should take charge of all the situations including fines, suspensions, and insurance issues. In the case involving Chris Simon, he should be fined a large amount, be suspended for the rest of the regular season and playoffs, and pay if the other party undergoes surgery.

Answer 7

of course! just because they are in the NHL dosnt mean they should get away with chris simons violence. If somebody was caught doing something like that on the street they would go to jail for sure.

Answer 8

it's a necessary evil. If the NHL would lighten up on fighting, you wouldn't see such brutality as we've seen lately, Simon, Betruzzi and as you've noted the games between New Yorks (note spelling)

If the NHL eased up on fighting and let these guys deal with their emotions toe-to-toe, thugs wouldn't be such a threat to a rivals career.

Answer 9

If the offense is violent enough, (ie using a stick as a weapon to strike the face of a player) there should be the possibility of criminal charges, and expulsion form the league should be mandatory as in the Chris Simon incident.

Answer 10

If a hockey player uses his stick, he should be locked-up because he can inflict serious damage. My biggest problem with violence in sports, though, is the double standard. When hockey players fight, it's "part of the game"; when NBA players fight, it's front-page news.