Jr seau kills himself

[Beeda Weeda]

alot of these sports are going to have to change with the times, people are getting bigger, strogner faster, and smarter

[ScreamingHand]

Did he say ow?

[brycickle]

Fighting is clearly overlooked in hockey.

Seems to me like there's a sharp contrast between something being overlooked and something being heavily encouraged.

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

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Fighting is clearly overlooked in hockey.

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Seems to me like there's a sharp contrast between something being overlooked and something being heavily encouraged.

Fair enough. My point was those couple minute stays in the penalty box are not meant to do anything to actually stop them from happening, neither are the highlight reel replays of them

[steve]

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Fighting is clearly overlooked in hockey.

[close]

Seems to me like there's a sharp contrast between something being overlooked and something being heavily encouraged.

[close]

Fair enough. My point was those couple minute stays in the penalty box are not meant to do anything to actually stop them from happening, neither are the highlight reel replays of them

ralph nader recently called on the NHL to ban fighting.

Wasn't there a period, not long ago, when fighting was penalized far heavier than it is now? I think I recall there being a huge backlash from the fan base.

[Choad Muskrat]

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Fighting is clearly overlooked in hockey.

[close]

Seems to me like there's a sharp contrast between something being overlooked and something being heavily encouraged.

[close]

Fair enough. My point was those couple minute stays in the penalty box are not meant to do anything to actually stop them from happening, neither are the highlight reel replays of them

The argument could also be made that the game clock actually stops during a fight, therefore it isn't even really part of the game.

But you can be sure as fuck no one is going to change the channel when a fight comes on. It draws ratings = money. Money > Players Health to the NHL. Bottom Line.

[Mooley]

Hockey and Football are apples and oranges.

Hockey players don't get CTE unless they fight constantly, for their whole career. I don't think anyone should be under any illusions when it comes to getting punched in the face repeatedly on a frequent basis and your mental well-being -- look no further than boxers. Obviously their place in the game is still controversial, but now more than ever these dudes know what they're getting themselves into -- if they're not skill players then they're choosing a risky path. At least the awareness is there now to treat these dudes and make sure they don't play through it. Dirty hits are another story, but they aren't sanctioned by the game at all, and the biggest problem was the choice to play through concussion symptoms that caused serious medical concerns, and I'm pretty sure that's impossible now with all the league monitoring. I doubt any NHL player will play through 5+ concussions any more, like back in the Lindros days.

Hockey's definitely not perfect though. I felt serious discomfort watching one of the Flyers-Penguins games that just degenerated into one gooney play and cheap shot after another.

Pro football's pretty fucked though. A football lineman takes dozens of hits to the head every time he steps on the field. They're sub-concussive, but they add up to major brain degeneration. I mean, Junior Seau played 19 years of NFL, plus college, plus high school. That's a lot of fucking punishment for one guy's brain. The three-point stance is fucking a lot of people up, because there's just no way of avoiding those collisions. It's such a fundamental part of the game that there's not much you can do short of major changes to the rules. Plus then there's the whole issue with NFL contracts where talented players can get seriously injured and just have their contracts thrown out, with no real support network for their broken post-football lives.

I'm really glad to hear about the players suing the league, and the number of articles I've read considering whether kids should be playing a sport with such lasting consequences. Maybe there'll be a way to make the game a little more ethical, but progress will be slow.


Also, this is a great, but depressing read regarding NFL players and concussions: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/10/19/091019fa_fact_gladwell

That?s football. You?re told either that you?re hurt or that you?re injured. There is no middle ground. If you are hurt, you can play. If you are injured, you can?t, and the line is whether you can walk and if you can put on a helmet and pads.

?There is something wrong with this group as a cohort,? Omalu says. ?They forget things. They have slurred speech. I have had an N.F.L. player come up to me at a funeral and tell me he can?t find his way home. I have wives who call me and say, ?My husband was a very good man. Now he drinks all the time. I don?t know why his behavior changed.? I have wives call me and say, ?My husband was a nice guy. Now he?s getting abusive.? I had someone call me and say, ?My husband went back to law school after football and became a lawyer. Now he can?t do his job. People are suing him.? ?

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

Agreed. Football places violence as a necessary part of the game, not a side show, and the hits are harder. The only sports that compare are boxing and MMA.

[artichoke]

Agreed. Football places violence as a necessary part of the game, not a side show, and the hits are harder. The only sports that compare are boxing and MMA.

I posted that article on fighting, which probably wasn't the best example.  The NHL has far more concussions than they'd like as well, and not just in 'enforcer' type dudes.  I don't really feel like digging up better articles to make better points, but if you breeze through this it should illustrate the fact that the NHL is pretty gnarly too:
http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2011/12/16/2639514/nhl-concussions-chris-pronger-sidney-crosby-prevention

[CUDDLEMONSTER]

rob drydek should ban sacking from street league so that those brave skateboarder's boners can enjoy a full and happy life.

[Mooley]

There has been a lot of talk in the media about whether a legitimate ban for fighting (issuing suspension and monetary damages, etc. as opposed to minor in-game penalties,) this sums shit up pretty well:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/sportingscene/2012/04/hockey-violence-blackhawks.html?mbid=social_mobile_FBshare&t=Violence+in+Hockey+%3A+The+New+Yorker

It should be pretty obvious from my other post that I agree with the author's core point about the state of the game, but that is the most asinine New Yorker article I've ever read.