Fighting the Good Fight: Why On-Ice Violence Is Killing Hockey
"If any pacifist can convince the warmonger world of hockey to examine its priorities, it's Adam Proteau. If you love a good hit or a good fight, read Fighting the Good Fight and then we'll talk."—Michael Landsberg, Host of Off the Record on TSN"These are life-altering decisions we're making...players have to realize it's not a knee injury and you can't just shake it off and keep playing through blurriness and dizziness.... Because of concussions, I have friends that had trouble taking a shower a couple years after they retired...there's no replacing a brain."—Mathieu Schneider, former all-star NHL defenseman and Special Assistant to the Executive Director, NHL Players' Association"Players are competitive. We sell hate. Our game sells hate."—Colin Campbell, Director of Hockey Operations and former chief disciplinarian for the NHLHockey has always been laissez-faire in policing its athletes, but now the game is more dangerous than ever before. Concussions are threatening to end the careers of some of the NHL's best players—including Sidney Crosby, the league's biggest marquee superstar—and a significant percentage of all NHLers are dealing with head injuries. While medical experts and others speak out against the lack of sufficient player protection in hockey, the best hockey league in the world has simply not moved quickly enough to address this issue. Although fighting and senseless aggressiveness are unhealthy for hockey, the league doesn't believe the game will sell without them.—FromFighting the Good FightOn-ice violence has become a major issue, polarizing and even threatening to fracture hockey.Fighting the Good Fightprobes this potential crisis in the game and argues for change at hockey's highest levels, shining a bright light on:Why "The Code" that romanticizes fighting in hockey is indefensible.Why the argument that players know the risks they're signing up for and what they're getting into doesn't hold water.Why there should be much tougher penalties and suspensions in the NHL for all acts of violence.Why the sport's gatekeepers (the NHL) have failed to treat the issue of player safety with the gravity it deserves, risking their stars and assets nightly.Why minor hockey is losing kids to the fear of brain injuries at an unprecedented rate.Why the entire game loses when on-ice violence is condoned, or at best lightly and inconsistently punished, at the NHL level.How fan reaction and public opinion can force change in the sport