Ethical Issues: The Act of Fighting in Hockey

1181 Words3 Pages

As long as there have been sports, there has been violence in them. Ice hockey, particularly due to its increasing popularity as a professional sport, has brought up several ethical issues regarding the act of fighting in hockey. There are strong arguments for both sides of this present problem in the world of hockey. Numerous male athletes, including children as young as nine years of age, have suffered injuries as an outcome of fighting and it should be considered if it should be part of a sport that very young people grow up with (Brust, Leonard, Pheley & Roberts, 1992).On the other hand, fights create excitement and the sport of hockey might grow in terms of popularity, making the problem of fighting in hockey complex and difficult to resolve (“Towards An Explanation Of Hockey Violence: A Reference Other Approach”). Even though hockey is known to be a very aggressive and fast-paced sport, the unsportsman-like action of fighting in hockey cannot longer be tolerated. The toleration of fighting during official hockey games in the National Hockey League has the power of changing the future of hockey as it is known and is, especially to minor-leaguers, which consists of children aged nine to fifteen, a great danger. The dangers, which are likely to result into injuries might potentially affect their physical and mental development. … The aspect of fighting in the men’s game of hockey is strictly regulated and allows two players to be involved in a single fight, although several fights may take place at the same time. All fights must be conducted under mutual approval of both hockey players. According to the official NHL webpage, fights are considered to have occurred only when at least one player, including the goalkeeper, punches... ... middle of paper ... ...colm, D., & Scott, A. (2012). Suicide, Sport and Medicine. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 46(16), 1092-1093. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2012-090974 Nair, N. (2011). Cricket Obsession in India: Through the Lens of Identity Theory. Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics, 14(5), 569-580. doi:10.1080/17430437.2011.574351 Smith, Michael D. (1979). Hockey Violence: A Test of The Violent Subculture Hypothesis. Social Problems, 27(2), 235-247. Smith, Michael D. (1979). Towards An Explanation of Hockey Violence: A Reference Other Approach. The Canadian Journal of Sociology, 105-124 Spencer, B. (2011). International Sporting Events in South Africa, Identity Re-Alignment, and Schneider's EVENT X. African Identities, 9(3), 267-278. doi:10.1080/14725843.2011.591225 Zamboni, F. J. (2014). Rules. Retrieved 03/30, 2014, from http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26336

More about Ethical Issues: The Act of Fighting in Hockey

Open Document