Don't blame Bertuzzi, blame the NHL
March 12, 2003
by Michael Walls

I wonder what was going through Todd Bertuzzi's mind as he grabbed the back of Steve Moore's shirt, cocked his gloved arm back, and was about to break Moore's neck with a sucker punch to the head?

Do you think he was concerned about possible repercussion to his hockey season? Or repercussions to his hockey career? Or possible health repercussions to his victim?

No, none of these probably occurred to him. Why? Because fighting in hockey is part of the game. They have an entire box dedicated for fighting and other violations to the rules. The penalty box – a sort of confessional booth for hockey players that break the rules. Two or five minutes (and 10 hail marys) in the penalty box makes cheap shots, high-sticking, spearing, tripping and fighting okay with the officials (and God).

So why would Mr. Bertuzzi think the outcome of bashing Mr. Moore in the head, then driving his face into the ice, would result in anything other then a penalty, or at worse, removal from the game?

I believe the tearful Bertuzzi when he says he never intended to hurt Moore . I believe him when he says he's sorry for breaking his neck and ending his season. I believe everything the tearful Bertuzzi, standing at a podium full of microphones, wearing a business suit, flanked by his wife and manager, says.

But that wasn't the same Bertuzzi on the ice. The Bertuzzi on the ice that night, was wearing skates and padding, and carried a hockey stick, and had on his mind a way to get back at Steve Moore for knocking out a Canucks teammate a month earlier. Bertuzzi believed that as long as he was wearing the uniform, he was immune to the rules that guide and protect regular citizens.

And for the most part, he's correct. The NHL does protect its players from the repercussions of beating each other senseless, calling it “part of the game”.

But Bertuzzi went too far – and the team, the league and possibly the legal system will punish him for it. The question is whether he knew it or not at the time of the incident, and what needs to be done to prevent it from happening again.

Hockey is a contact sport. People get hit and people get hurt. Without contact the game wouldn't exist. If players weren't allowed to check other players into the boards, then regaining possession of the puck would be nearly impossible. It's part of the strategy, and yes, it's part of the fun of watching hockey. And I like watching hockey, and I like the contact involved.

But allowing players to throw off their gloves, grab each others collars, and punch each other in the face – while teammates, refs, and an arena full of fans watch and cheer – is not essential to the game of hockey.

The argument is that it keeps everyone honest. If the threat of retaliation didn't exist, then cheap shots and unseen violations would run rampant and undermine the whole checks-and-balances of fair play.

Yet, football is a contact sport – more so than hockey (although hockey fanatics would argue differently). And in football, cheap shots and broken rules go on all the time underneath the pile. Heads and faces get crushed into the ground, chests and legs get stepped on with cleats, footballs get ripped out of hands who legally have possession. But you don't get football players grabbing each other's jerseys and playing rock ‘em, sock ‘em, robots every game.

Yes, fights break out on the football field, and on the basketball court, and baseball has its handful of bench clearing brawls throughout the season. But those fights are broken up immediately and severely dealt with. “Unnecessary Roughness” and “Unsportsman Like Conduct” penalties get called. Fines and game suspensions are levied. But these are rare incidents by comparison to hockey's nearly 1 fight-per-game average.

“Fighting is part of the game of hockey.”

No, fighting is only part of the professional game of hockey. College hockey doesn't tolerate fighting, yet the game continues and is highly competitive and enjoyable to watch.

“What about baseball's high-and-tight pitching, ala Roger Clemens' trademark chin music? Why is that acceptable?”

Inside pitching is a huge part of the game of baseball. Even hitters will tell you that. Without inside pitching, batters would simply crowd the plate, forcing pitchers to throw away or over the plate, giving hitters nothing to fear.   Beaning a hitter intentionally is NOT a part of baseball – and is something MLB should deal with more severely.

“The acceptable level of fighting in hockey isn't the gateway to heinous violent acts on the ice.”

Yes it is.

I know what Bertuzzi was thinking. He was thinking, “let me get one good shot in before we fight.” He never expected that his one “good shot” would knock him unconscious and send him face-first to the ice.

As much as everyone, including the NHL, wants to fully blame Bertuzzi and peg him as a “special case” or claim he “just went berserk” – it isn't completely his fault. The NHL needs to take partial blame for setting up a precedent and allowing an acceptable level of fighting in hockey, where players sometimes have the flexibility to push those rules to a dangerous level.

Question: How is this part of the game?

(Michael Walls is a volunteer staff writer for 2 Walls Webzine)