The code is by nature exclusionary. Athletes operate in the heat of the moment with lots of yelling and often with plenty of weapons on hand. And so, to keep the bloodletting to a minimum, the athletes are understood to govern themselves. Tie Domi elbowed Scott Niedermayer of the New Jersey Devils to Tralfamadore, it was called a breach of the code. Domi is a tough guy.
Tough guys fight tough guys.
The honourable tough guy should grant, when pressed, a rematch provided the game is not influenced. You don't go to court. The players involved still believe in the code. When word leached out that Domi was eyeing an appeal on the grounds that his suspension was too harsh, you had to wonder if Domi was breaking another code. Look around, code violations seem to be going on everywhere.