Fighting has been part of the NHL and other professional hockey leagues since their inceptions, but why does it continue to be part of the game? Fighting in the NHL is governed by “the code”, a set of somewhat ambiguous rules that have often been mis-interpreted by the athletes who follow them. The purpose of the code is to protect “star” players — athletes who aren’t very big, but are extremely skilled at playing hockey, and who score a large number of goals per season. When given the chance, athletes on an opposing team will try to get away with legal or, more often than not, illegal hits on a star player. If athletes are hit multiple times per game, every game, their hockey career won’t last very long, and professional hockey teams want to keep their star players as long as they can. The solution to this problem was to hire athletes who were encouraged to embody extreme masculine traits such as being intimidating and aggressive. These “enforcers” protect star players from being hit too much, and routinely fight the athletes on the opposing teams to maintain the threat of violence for the length of the game. Fighting in hockey reduces the chances of a star athlete getting hit, but it also promotes violence on the hockey rink, and ultimately normalizes the spectre of fighting amongst the viewers and fans. Simply put, the debate revolves around whether or not fighting should be banned outright in professional hockey, to protect the athletes from injury, or if it should be kept, to avoid potentially more dangerous injuries such as brain trauma. There are many arguments in favour of allowing fighting; however, many of these seem more like rationalizations.

Enforcers, who have spent many seasons fighting and who receive many hits to the head, could easily develop chronic brain conditions such as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). This is the result violence being permitted and encouraged on the ice, theoretically in order to protect against more dangerous injuries caused by “high sticking”. Fighting in hockey can provoke a very emotional response from the fans of the sport, if the designated fighter from one team beats the fighter from an opposing team: the winning fighter’s fans will feel pride in their team. However, collaterally, this level of emotion and blind loyalty can cause fighting amongst rival fans, and even fighting amongst the fans and players. The unnecessarily extreme aggressiveness imposed on the enforcers can cause them “…to take (physical) risks, and become violent if necessary” (David and Brannon, 1976). Many hockey enforcers can feel forced by “The Code” to fight, even when they don’t want to. Don Sanderson, a hockey player who died during a fight in a hockey match, had actually claimed that his goal for that season was not to fight. Marty McSorley took a cheap shot on Donald Brashear because he had to uphold his end of The Code, resulting in Brashear’s suffering a 3rd degree concussion. The problem with any code is that it make many people, falsely justify their actions. Many men find comfort in having a code to follow, as it provides some sense of order, however codes can be very detrimental to those who follow them. This level of commitment to achievement is common in very physically demanding sports (David and Brannon, 1976). Ironically his own fighting ultimately ended McSorley’s hockey career. If fighting were to be removed from hockey altogether, neither Brashear nor McSorley would have been under pressure, nor would have felt like they needed to be aggressive on the rink.

Other hockey players have made other suggestions: Nick Kypreos, a former Toronto Maple Leaves enforcer said that “if you want to take it (fighting) out, just take it out” (The Fifth Estate, 2010), proposing that fighting could, simply, not be tolerated. Kypreos claims that he didn’t want to fight but he felt like he had to prove himself to his team. The need to prove himself caused Kypreos to eventually quit his job as an NHL hockey player. He was getting too old and, further, was knocked out by another enforcer, losing both respect and his own dignity as a hockey enforcer. Respect is one of the cornerstones of being an enforcer, and if an enforcer cannot intimidate the other team, they cannot do their job.

According to Don Cherry, a hockey commentator and former hockey player and coach, the majority of the fan base of hockey leagues enjoys fighting in hockey games. Many blue collar hockey fans of minor leagues have “always loved their hard working tough guys” (Eric Beman, The Fifth Estate, 2010) such as John Mirasty, an enforcer in a hockey minor league. Many blue collar workers have very frustrating and repetitive jobs, which can cause people to need relief from stress the jobs cause (Kilmartin, 2019); watching sports with the occasional fight is how many people relieve their stress. Mirasty claimed in an interview with The Fifth Estate that he loves fighting: “without it you wouldn’t have hockey, you’d have figure-skating on ice.” This quote emphasizes that to Mirasty along with many other enforcers, playing hockey is about being “the man”, and that every time he fights, he’s fighting to defend his honour as a man.

 On the other hand, the majority of people who don’t identify themselves as hockey fans, think that hockey has become too violent, and would refrain from letting their children participate in the sport (Angus Reid Institute). Many hockey players, too,  don’t like the fighting in hockey; and many enforcers only keep doing their job because they want to stay in the NHL. In fact, the only thing both camps have agreed on is that the NHL has poorly handled the situation. In order to provide the fans, the athletes, and the people who are against fighting with a satisfactory outcome, the NHL needs to come up with a suitable solution. Those who are anti-fighting would agree that hockey isn’t a martial sport like Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and shouldn’t have fighting in it, let alone encourage it.

The NHL isn’t thinking about the athletes who are put into positions where they need to fight other athletes in order to keep their jobs; rather, they’re thinking about the pro-fighting fans who currently seem to demand the violence that comes with the game. The truth is that people would most likely still watch hockey even if there were a ban put on fighting. The Code was a system that was created to protect hockey players, but it has not protected them. Instead, it has created a cadre of 60 jobs in the NHL of people who generally don’t like doing what they’re doing, but still feel that they have to.

Canadian Hockey Survey:

Canadians Want to Ban Head Shots from Hockey, But No Consensus on Fights

I decided to write my blog about Bear Grylls. Edward Michael Grylls, otherwise known as Bear, was my childhood hero. I loved watching Bear’s TV show, Man vs. Wild, and he inspired me to spend more time outside in nature.

Bear was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British special forces (SAS), and one of their survival instructors. Bear used the skills he acquired during his time in the armed forces to host his own TV show, Man vs. Wild. In his show, Bear taught viewers the essential skills needed to survive in almost any environment. Bear’s survival feats include climbing Mount Everest 3 month after recovering from a spinal injury, leading an expedition in the Antarctic, crossing the North Atlantic ocean in an inflatable boat, and crossing the Northwest Passage in a similar inflatable boat. On top of all of those achievements, Bear was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for contributions to the UK and inspiring people to get out and enjoy nature wether solitarily, or in groups.

Bear has made many contributions to the vast community of outdoor enthusiasts and adventurers. Bear helps inspire new generations to embrace the outdoors; he is the Chief Scout of the United Kingdom, meaning that he visits youth groups around the UK and teaches them survival skills, as well as promoting the scouts organization. Bear’s TV show was part of the reason I am enrolled in the Environmental and Wildlife Management program at Vanier. Bear Grylls is a household name: I don’t know anyone who hasn’t heard of him. One of my favourite quotes from Bear Grylls is “Survival can be summed up in three words – never give up”

Steak