The Normalization of Violence in Hockey - What Would Jesus Do?

Pay close attention to the reactions of the fans as well as the commentators:

The Setting

 Age 14… playing for the Meadowvale Mohawks Single ‘A’ Hockey Team… facing the Applewood Cree in a regular season game… down 4-0…

The Situation

A player on the opposing team is unhappy with one of my hits from the previous period and decides he wants to drop the gloves.

Note: Fighting at his age is prohibited. Also note that we are wearing full metal cages.

This opposing player drops his stick and takes his gloves while proceeding to skate towards me. I see him coming. Part of me laughs – size and strength are not in his favour – and he is attempting to strike my metal cage with his bare hands (definitely not a good move). Another part of me thinks, “we’re down 4-0, what have I got to lose?” – nothing ...

And so he swings wildly and misses. I drop my stick but keep my gloves on, knowing full well the pain of hitting his metal cage with my bare hand… I counter with a straight right-hand that makes a flush contact with the middle of his cage, putting him flat on his back and in tears…

The Consequence

I am immediately ejected from the game and spend the rest of the third period in the change room, waiting for my teammates and my coaches to arrive. It was the longest 10 minutes of my life as I questioned my actions and subsequently the repercussions. What will the players think? What will the coaches do? Am I off the team? What will my dad say to me? To my amazement, I am praised by my coaches for “sticking up for the team”. The players give me “high-fives” and laugh about the incident.

Now watch this youtube clip (interesting to note that it has over 5 million views):

Part of me finds it amusing – there is obviously a dialogue between the two players – an expression of displeasure regarding the hit and an attempt to provoke the ‘dropping of the gloves’. The speed at which the young lad drops his stick and removes his gloves is almost identical to that of an NHL player. Obviously, the other player is reluctant to do the same, but like me, he too decides to keep his gloves on (smart move). The youtube video identifies the two players to be 6 years old - this is the part I find somewhat shocking in light of last week’s lecture regarding the normalization of violence in sport, specifically hockey.

Players, at a very raw and early age, are beginning to adopt aspects of the ‘culture’ of hockey that is violence and fighting. One of the interesting points I took from lecture was the fact that the ‘theologizing’ of sport ultimately results in the normalization or valorization of pain and self-inflicting violence. The mixing of moral value with the commodification of professional sports can lead into dangerous territory as recently witnessed with the increase of violence in sport today. In a book written by Kevin Young and Philip White (2007) entitled Sport and Gender in Canada, a claim is made that Western Canada is currently suffering from a ‘crisis of masculinity’ stemming from “the disparity between the masculine traits they [men] are expected and encouraged to uphold …and the social realities of their everyday lives” (p.219). Moreover, decisions are made with a profit-driven intention of “giving the audiences what they want by providing the most appealing coverage…integrally related to the promotion of masculinist, as well as nationalistic, discourses” (p.214). Young and White believe that current players are adopting what they call ‘dangerous masculinities’ that result from learned behaviours and involve risk-taking, neglect for one’s health, and aggressive practices. Given the big business of sport, it is important to consider that these ‘masculinities’ are socially constructed as forms of entertainment to sell a particular product. As evidenced from Young and White, men are more susceptible to sports injury than women, have increased spinal injuries, and outnumber injured girls/women at all age levels. Failure of athletes to uphold these masculine hegemonic values results in social stigma, or the process of negative labelling - players are branded as being "soft"

So do we need fighting/violence in hockey? If fans truly love the sport, then the elimination of something that causes so much damage should not be a problem, right? Now ask that same question to the owners of NHL teams or to the top executives of the league. Somewhere in their answer you might find the phrase "but it serves as a selling point for our business... fans pay money to see violent behaviours on the ice". Why is there no fighting or hitting in the NHL All-Star Game that attracts millions of fans worldwide? According to the opinionated and controversial Don Cherry, fighting protects the talented players from getting hurt as evidenced in this youtube video:

Despite the chivalry that is evidenced in this next youtube clip at approximately 0:43 and onward, I feel that there is no need for fighting in hockey.