The recent hit by Zdeno Chara on Max Pacriorety has started up a massive storm of controversy and again brings actions in sports and the legal system head to head. On the 7 year anniversary of one of my most hated players in the game, Todd Bertuzzi, stalking and striking Avalanche forward Steve Moore from behind, fracturing his neck, and ending his career, Chara's hit which wasn't nearly as premeditated but looked just as vicious resulted in an injury that could end Max's career as well as he was carried off on a stretcher and found to have a concussion and a fractured vertebrae as well.
Now it could be argued that the hit was dirty, that the hit was something that wasn't dirty but an unfortunate result to a hit that was in a dangerous area of the ice (Max's head hit the stanchion between the benches), or any level in between ... and in fact that argument rages on right now. It is my belief that he intended to hit him, perhaps even put him into the bench, but not to hurt him ... and I agree that it was interference though not as late as some people are claiming it to be ... but no one really knows the intent of the action except Chara. The arguments will go on as they should because player safety is a serious concern, however that isn't the intent of this writing. The purpose of this writing is to discuss the law stepping in on these occasions.
It is reported that the Montreal police was flooded with phone calls asking for Chara to be arrested or the event to be looked at as a criminal act, something that the Montreal police are actually going to do. In my opinion those people are completely out of line. We are taking an unfortunate incident in a hockey game with a horrible result and looking to charge a man with a criminal act. Now I don't think that there will be any charges come from this as it was just a hockey play that ended badly, but I could be wrong.
I would state that I think that these acts are not something that police forces need to be concerned with. Unfortunate accidents happen and in all sports sometimes a line can be crossed but does that mean it was a criminal act? I surely don't think so. These are sports we are talking about and nearly always the acts are done in moments of passion within the game.
If the Bertuzzi incident didn't end in charges this shouldn't by any means. That incident showed premeditation and a stalker type attack and it brought no charges. I hate what happened that night but agree that charges weren't warranted but that was the kind of act that could have brought them and I would have understood as well. That was an act of premeditation and strayed far from the game of hockey, an act that I do believe did warrant a look at from the local authorities. This was simple a hockey play that crossed a line but certainly wasn't criminal.
If the law is to step in and look into acts like these that result in injury where do we draw the line? A swing of the stick at someone in the heat of the moment, which is something I certainly don't condone but it does happen? Any major boarding call that results in injury? A pitcher in baseball throwing intentionally at a batter? Remember Albert Haynesworth stomping on his opponent's head in the NFL not that long ago?
Just what is and isn't worthy of the law stepping in? To me an act in the heat of the game doesn't warrant the manpower of an investigation nor is that where the legal system is really needed. If the act goes beyond the game, if the act is malicious and intended to harm and is premeditated, then by all means look into it and then decide upon legal repercussions at that point ... but an act such as this was just hockey gone bad. A similar incident happened a few years back with Jack Johnson putting Ryan Smyth into the boards and knocking him out. The difference is Smyth didn't have a broken neck ... that's it. So why is this worthy of a "criminal look" and that wasn't? When should the law step in and when should it just be known that sports are very emotional and at times those emotions overflow?
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