The National Hockey League held 11 games on Jan. 13, 2009. According to Hockeyfight.com, more than half of those games contained a fight.
Yes, there is a Web site called Hockeyfight.com. The site keeps a log of every fight and users vote for the winner.
There isn’t a Baseball-bash.com. No Basketbrawl.com (it’s for sale though). Not even Volleyball-destruction.net.
The NHL is curbing these fights. According to the New York Times, fighting in the NHL is up 75 percent from three years ago.
In December 2006, the NBA suspended Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony 15 games for his participation in an on-court brawl. Last Thursday, Montreal Canadiens left wing Steve Begin spent five minutes in the penalty box for fighting.
Increasing fighting is likely a ploy for more viewers. Hockey is a terrible spectator sport. Nobody can see the tiny puck on television or at games, and the games are always low scoring, which appeals to Americans almost as much as ammonia (see soccer).
Having and allowing more fights is an easy way to garner viewers toward an unwatchable sport.
While it’s understandable why the NHL would want to emulate professional wrestling, it should not be tolerated. Yet thousands of people still watch the NHL, pugilism and all.
What possible reason could there be for such a double standard?
It isn’t the violence; the National Football League is probably more violent as a league than professional hockey. And when New England Patriots offensive tackle Matt Light and Miami Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder fought on the field earlier this season, they were fined $15,000 and nearly suspended.
Instead, it’s the same reason there are mandatory minimums for simple possession of crack cocaine but not meth. It’s why Do the Right Thing won zero Oscars and Driving Miss Daisy won four.
Yes, it’s racism.
In 2003, the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport gave the NHL a “C” grade in racial diversity, the lowest score of any major professional league. That grade did not include players, because historically there have been so few players of color in hockey.
They couldn’t even include the players in their study because they were so overwhelmingly white.
When black athletes fight, they’re thugs and bad role models. When white athletes fight, they’re tough enforcers.
“Hockeyfight.com?” Really? Is fighting between two adults over a game really acceptable by hockey fans?
Hockey can have their regularly scheduled brawls. But sports journalists should cut out NHL coverage or, at the very least, not show highlights of the fights.
Instead, the NHL should be treated more like World Wrestling Entertainment, in that it’s not covered at all.
Because while the WWE is scripted, it’s similar to the NHL in at least two important characteristics: All the players are susceptible to violent outbursts, and the fans go home happy when an athlete goes home bleeding.
Christopher went to a fight and a hockey game broke out. If
you know who did that joke, e-mail him at cogino@asu.edu for a pat on the back.
