After The Whistle: No Tolerance for Violence Code

PUBLISHER'S COMMENTARY

On the surface, the Nanaimo Minor Hockey Association should be congratulated for taking a very serious stand against violence. In reality, however, the NMHA may have opened up a "can of worms" with a policy which will be very hard to implement on a consistent basis. In this case, it is almost too tough to be enforceable.

What is interesting to note when you read the working paper is that the McMurtry Report, which was done in 1974, outlined what he believed to be the causes of violence in amateur hockey some 30 years ago. If you take away the date, one would think the report was written yesterday.

Where Nanaimo and any other association seeking to institute a similar policy, will find it most difficult is in defining exactly what is acceptable violence in a typically violent sport. There is no doubt that one could easily come up with a clear list of unacceptable and/or disrespectful behaviour. However, behaviour is often borderline, and some people are experts at pushing only so far and then backing off before going over the edge.

For example, how do you determine whether or not a player is controlling his actions on the ice. In the heat of the moment, when a child charges into an opponent, the referee will likely give out a penalty if it appears that the child got his elbow up or jumped into the opponent. If there is an injury, a match penalty will probably be handed out. If no injury occurs, the penalty will likely be a minor penalty. Yet, could it be said that the action of the player nevertheless ignored the safety of his opponent, irregardless of whether or not an injury occurs? I have seen some pretty violent plays where there was no injury, and I have also seen some pretty serious injuries that took place in what would normally be considered minor infraction situations.

Will the Code be applied consistently even if there is no injury? Will the offending player be automatically suspended or reprimanded? And what role will the referee play in all of this? If a game is being supervised by an off-ice observer, and, in the opinion of the supervisor the official is allowing violent play to continue which may appear to be a violation of the Code, will the players, coaches and parents suffer the consequences of the Code since it is they who are out of control, or will it only apply to recorded infractions on the time sheet? Will a referee be subject to discipline if he doesn't call enough penalties? When he calls the game according to the book and fills the scoresheet with penalties, will he be told to "let the players play hockey" the next time out? Will we find that certain parents will complain to the President just to seek revenge on another group of parents or team?

The main principles of the Code are wonderful. Make sure you read it here >>>

What we must now examine is a method of policing the actions of the players, coaches and parents. Also, we need to examine how to train the supervisors and officials so that they do not become merely an additional layer of administration where individuals who have the wrong motives find another place where they can do damage to the system.

The most unfortunate thing about strict codes such as this, is that it will likely become mainly the responsibility of the referee to enforce. This means that young referees will soon find themselves in situations whereby they have to stop a game to eject a parent who "loses control". That same parent may have done exactly the same thing the game before and nothing was done. Now the referee who ejects the parent will face additional scrutiny and abuse from coaches, players and parents for being too strict and the "dance will be on". Eventually, referees will realize that it is better to focus on managing the game and keeping control of the players, choosing to be too lenient instead of being too strict, and thus avoiding the stress of being considered "the bad guy".

The hockey rule book is really quite clear as to the code of conduct which must be followed. I would suggest that the rule book may be all that one needs in order to reduce the violent actions on and off the ice. What we need is a willingness on the part of all hockey personalities to allow referees to enforce the rules, regardless of how many penalties are called. We also need administrators to back up the referees who will receive complaints about not using their judgement when calling penalties.

One old-timer I spoke to recently seemed to shrug off the violence issue by taking on a whole different perspective. He told me that if some people think the game is too violent, then those people should stop coming to the game. If some players think the game is too rough, then those players should quit and do something else. He said that it was like the police officer said to the lady who complained about her neighbour walking around his house in the nude. The officer told the lady that if she was bothered by the man's nudity, then she should stop standing on the table so she could see into his window.

The above comments are obviously from a man who grew up in a completely different era, however, much of what he says is accurate with respect to the game of hockey at the professional level - from the OHL on up.

There are so many people who enjoy the game of hockey and so many children who want to play the game. What we have to do is come up with a way of allowing all of them to play at a level which will provide the most satisfaction. When it comes to violence, you never see anyone leaving the arena to get a hot dog when a fight breaks out. However, you will be hard-pressed to find anyone who advocates fighting at the minor hockey level. Youth hockey should be fun and should be developmental - it should not be viewed as purely for the entertainment of fans. That is an important distinction with respect to youth hockey. Youth hockey is for the kids - Professional hockey is for the fans.

Again, we commend the Nanaimo Minor Hockey Association for their efforts to improve the game of hockey and wish them the very best in implementing the policy. We do hope to receive updates during the season and hope to receive suggestions for other associations who wish to follow suit.