Hockey teams rely on fans to stay in business, so they must give the fans what they want, violence. Perry Turnbull is the part owner and coach of the St. Louis Vipers, a professional roller hockey team. Turnbull is in favor of fighting in hockey when the Vipers spectators came to a game and, never saw a fight, it lessened the entertainment value. The league that the Vipers play in changed their rules last year to allow fighting. Last season with fighting, the average was 6,900.
Fans come to see the violence, and then get hooked on the game.
They come in chanting the name of their favorite team's enforcer, and before they know it they are in love with the game. There is so much more to hockey than violence, but people would never see, and enjoy, the rest of hockey if violence wasn't a part also. Asking hockey leagues to cut down on violence is asking them to volunteer to go out of business and lose money. That is just not a reasonable request. Eitzen, D. Stanley, Dr., and Dr. George H. Sage.