Rules overhaul would restore order to hockey

As if we were not already a society buried in litigation, the sports world grows ever closer to carving out its own niche in the courtroom. The latest entry on the sports legal docket is in Lake County, Ill., where a 15-year-old hockey player is headed to trial on an aggravated assault charge.

The incident occurred in November when the charged player cross-checked an opponent into the boards, apparently after the final horn sounded and with the injured player having no idea he was about to get leveled. The injured player is paralyzed from the waist down.

Arguments to dismiss the case because it resulted from a game incident that should be left to game and league officials did not impress the judge who ordered the case to trial in July. One of the issues in the case will be just what is a game-related incident and what acts are so removed from the game that they are subject to the everyday laws governing society.

This incident appears to be a case where the attacking player acted out of frustration when the game was in fact over, but before players had left the ice. Such a scene has not been uncommon in hockey at every level over the years. Pregame and postgame fights and scuffles used to be a regular feature of hockey games, even in the NHL. No so anymore.

The fact such incidents have occurred will be used by the charged player’s attorneys to argue that such acts, while entirely improper, are nevertheless a part of the game that should be handled by hockey officials, not the courts.

The drift away from such incidents and the heavy fines and suspensions that are now imposed for such acts at the professional and youth levels will be used by the prosecution to show they have nothing to do with the game and warrant action by law enforcement officials.

Such acts continue to reflect unspoken assumptions regarding hockey. They are assumptions that need to be rejected.

An NHL Hall-of-Fame defenseman recently said to me regarding a player whom we both knew went on the ice to injure a key opponent in this year’s play-offs, “Some things never change. You get the star of the other team off the ice and you’ve helped your team.”

He is right and it is unacceptable. Number one, fighting needs to be removed from the rule book and made an absolute no. You fight and you will be suspended and fined, both of which need to be substantial. That will help remove the perception that fighting has a place in hockey.

Next, use of the stick for anything other that moving the puck needs to be entirely illegal and the penalties for stick infractions start with a double minor and rapidly advance to game misconducts. Any stick violation that occurs above the waist is a major penalty and if to the head, you’ve gone from the game.

With proper rule enforcement will come a proper perception on the part of youngsters learning the game that skating, passing, checking and shooting are what the game is about.

There can be no doubt that what youth see on TV dramatically affects how they act and perceive the world. The violence in sports that occurs outside the rules is seen in televised games day after day in every sport. That is what the kids copy. With it comes the lack of self control by youth playing games and the belief excessive violence will be tolerated. They are all going to be in the pros some day and that’s what the pros are doing.

The pros need to set a better example for our youth. Without it, there will be more courts and more destroyed lives.

NEWS columnist Gary Thorne, an Old Town native, is an ESPN and CBS broadcaster.