There is a level of violence in every sport, even baseball, where batters sometimes charge the mound after being beaned. It would be different if athletes charge the mound with a knife or shoot at the goalie with a gun so they can score a goal easier, but the violence we are talking about is accepted by players and fans as part of the game. The court agrees with this argument. 3 times since 1972 Congress has failed to pass any of the laws it has tried to enact against violence in sports. Judge Stanley Grimm, who overturned a 1990 court judgement of a player intentionally checking the goalie into the boards during a break in the period, agrees.
Rough play is commonplace in professional hockey.
They wear pads, helmets and other protective gear because of the rough nature of the sport. In part, the game is played with great intensity because its players can reap substantial financial rewards. We also recognize that the professional leagues have internal mechanisms for penalizing players for violating team rules. There have been successful civil cases against athletes, but never a criminal prosecution. We are not promoting intentional violence, as it is definitely not needed in any sport, but the courts still should not be able to prosecute athletes that commit intentional acts of violence.