Intent-to-injure in Professional Sports (playoffs, hockey, fan, NBA)

[OvertaxedOnLI]

If you're a hockey fan, you surely have heard (and probably seen via replays) of the incident at last night's Islanders/Rangers game. It's been the talk of much of the sports media all day today, with much discussion of the appropriate level of punishment for the perpetrator, Chris Simon.

The issue of what the "appropriate" punishment should be for ANY athlete (regardless of what sport he/she plays) who intentionally attempts to injure another player, is the subject of my poll.

My vote is for immediate automatic suspension for the entire rest of the season plus its playoffs. There should be no "factoring in" of a player's identity, past history, or the level of resulting injury to the victim. IMHO the punishment should be for the deed, not its perpetrator or its actual result. The rule should be imposed immediately with no appeals or so-called mitigating factors. You did the crime, you do the time. Zero tolerance.

I actually considered the most draconian measure which would be an instant and permanent ban ("one and done") from playing that sport at a pro level. But I think an automatic season-plus-playoffs suspension would be likely to eliminate this kind of ugly incident from pro sports. However, if it continued to happen then I would definitely be in favor of a "one and done" policy!

Please don't derail this poll/thread into a discussion of "violence/fighting in hockey" or "hockey versus other sports"! There are strong feelings on those topics both For and Against, but … that's NOT the subject here. The subject is "How should we hold professional athletes accountable for their actions when they choose to deliberately attempt to injure another player?" IMHO it is reprehensible, inexcusable and should be treated as such: with a clearly stated and severe punishment. I'd like to hear what others have to say about this subject.

[Racelady88]

I agree. However, I believe it should be 2 strikes & you're out. There is no reason to intentionally injure someone. If the action were taken outside of a sports arena people get arrested for assaulting other people.

[Lauri_25ny]

I'm a life long hockey fan. Fighting is part of the game, but what Chris Simon did was a punk move. He took offense to a clean check. He should be banned for life from the game. An inch lower and we could be talking about the death of Hollweg. Simon needs to spend the rest of what would have been his career thinking about that.

I do believe there should be suspensions for intent to injure penalties, but when it's as severe as what happened last night, there should be no first or second strike. One and done.

[OvertaxedOnLI]

Originally Posted by Lauri_25ny

I'm a life long hockey fan. Fighting is part of the game, but what Chris Simon did was a punk move.

I am in total agreement with you on both counts. I was at the game last night, in the corner nearest to where this took place. I'm a lifelong Islanders fan but I can tell you, I was on my feet staring in utter shock and horror at Hollweg lying motionless on the ice for what seemed like an eternity until an official even noticed him.

Incidents like this transcend team rivalries or any particular sport's genre/history, and go right to the heart of what is or isn't acceptable human behavior. A hockey fight is one thing. A vicious attack with intent to injure is quite another (Bertuzzi got off too lightly, IMHO).

My son plays ice hockey, and it is horrifying to even begin to imagine what it would be like if that was him lying motionless on the ice as a result of some other player thinking even for a split second that it is "okay" to do what Simon, Bertuzzi, Hunter, et al. have done. And yet pro athletes, and pro sports as a whole, are supposed to be role models to the younger generation. What kind of message does pro sports send if there is NO strict across-the-board zero-tolerance policy? Pro athletes should be held to the highest possible standard of behavior while they are practicing their craft; those that can't or won't, need to know that their careers will be on the line otherwise.

[tet tea]

I hope he gets a lot more than Todd Bertuzzi (Vancouver) got for his sucker punch of another player - 17 months off the ice!

[mb919]

Originally Posted by OvertaxedOnLI

I am in total agreement with you on both counts. I was at the game last night, in the corner nearest to where this took place. I'm a lifelong Islanders fan but I can tell you, I was on my feet staring in utter shock and horror at Hollweg lying motionless on the ice for what seemed like an eternity until an official even noticed him.

Incidents like this transcend team rivalries or any particular sport's genre/history, and go right to the heart of what is or isn't acceptable human behavior. A hockey fight is one thing. A vicious attack with intent to injure is quite another (Bertuzzi got off too lightly, IMHO).

My son plays ice hockey, and it is horrifying to even begin to imagine what it would be like if that was him lying motionless on the ice as a result of some other player thinking even for a split second that it is "okay" to do what Simon, Bertuzzi, Hunter, et al. have done. And yet pro athletes, and pro sports as a whole, are supposed to be role models to the younger generation. What kind of message does pro sports send if there is NO strict across-the-board zero-tolerance policy? Pro athletes should be held to the highest possible standard of behavior while they are practicing their craft; those that can't or won't, need to know that their careers will be on the line otherwise.

Even putting aside the role model issue, what kind of message does the NHL send to kids when it condones acts that are indictable crimes when done outside of a game? If Chris Simon took a hockey stick and whacked Hollweg in the mouth, say, in the parking lot of a bar, he'd be hauled off to jail on an aggravated assault charge. The NHL has never made the punishment for this kind of behavior outweigh any potential rewards. Now would be a good time to start. How many more disgusting incidents does this sport need before they do something about this problem?

[newyorkjetsfan74]

im a hockey fan (islanders fan) and simon should definately be banned for at least rest of season/playoffs. even though the guy didnt get seriously injured, he should be punished for the intent.

[tet tea]

Originally Posted by mb919

Even putting aside the role model issue, what kind of message does the NHL send to kids when it condones acts that are indictable crimes when done outside of a game? If Chris Simon took a hockey stick and whacked Hollweg in the mouth, say, in the parking lot of a bar, he'd be hauled off to jail on an aggravated assault charge. The NHL has never made the punishment for this kind of behavior outweigh any potential rewards. Now would be a good time to start. How many more disgusting incidents does this sport need before they do something about this problem?

Totally agree with you on the message to kids. Not just in the NHL but also the NBA and NFL.

I think that criminal charges might be coming his way with probable forfeiture of pay and the loss of endorsements. Todd Bertuzzi a couple of years back had to cough up a big chunk of change. He also lost thousands in endorsments after he pled guilty to an assault charge. Not sure if he served time, more than likely got probabtion and community service.

[Lauri_25ny]

You're right, Tetley. Todd Bertuzzi just got probation and community service. I was reading an article on Steve Moore the other day. Really sad that he's still going through trying to rehab. I felt that Todd Bertuzzi should have been suspended for the same length of time that it took for Steve Moore to recover. People told me that was too "extreme". Yeah, tell that to Steve.

Here's the link to the Steve Moore story:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_yl...v=cp&type=lgns

[Travel'r]

Charges should be filed and Simon should be prosecuted, just as if he'd assaulted somebody in a mall.
Nice if court & some jail time could provide the unpaid vacation (as his contract should be forfieted anyways).