On Wed, 8 Dec 1999, Ben Flickinger wrote:
 
> http://www.discoveromaha.com/shared-cgi/stories/show.cgi?id=aponline-menus-d
> ata/Hockey.AP.V0851.AP-HKO-Hockey-Play.story&menu=Hockey.html
>
> Not sure what to think myself...even if it did happen seconds after the
> whistle, I still don't think it should be tried. There's a big difference
> between swinging a stick at a face and making a hit after the whistle (which
> happens all the time, just this time someone got seriously hurt). Maybe he
> should get suspended or something for an illegal hit, but prosecuted by a
> court of law? Obviously if it happened before the buzzer then there's no way
> this kid should be punished.
 
There are two points about this that I think may make charges warranted.
First, is that the hit in question was a hit from behind. Second is that it
occurred after the game was over. In hockey, like all contact sports, there
is the basic premise that you can do things on the ice that would get you
arrested off the ice. (i.e. two guys dropping their gloves and fighting
outside my house would probably find themselves in jail for a little longer
than five minutes. :-) )
 
Where things cross the line is when they go beyond what someone should
reasonably expect to have happen to them. Hockey has increasingly taken the
position that hitting from behind is not acceptable. If it is not
acceptable to hockey, then it starts to become something that one should
not reasonably expect in a hockey game.
 
A person also should not expect hits of this sort (or any sort) once the
game is done. One can make the case that hits from behind are part of the
game, while the game is in progress. Once the game is completed, then that
defence is gone.
 
What the court will have to look at is the degree of premeditation that was
involved, what injury (if any) was sustained by the victim, if the
defendant has a history of this sort of behaviour, what (if anything)
led up to this incident etc. etc.
 
If the player is convicted, I think you will see hockey governing bodies
(including the NCAA) tighten up their rules on hitting from behind, as the
courts will have sent the message that such hits are not going to be
tolerated as much as they were before.
 
John
 
--
 John Edwards - Carleton (Ont) '96, Manitoba '00 - [log in to unmask]
                  "You're telling me the fun's over?
      Man! I'm still waiting for the fun to start." - Brad Hamilton
The opinions expressed are mine alone, because everybody else says I'm weird.
 
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