by James Mcdonall

Created on: April 22, 2008

Impose a life-time ban on over-anxious hockey players? Not a good idea. If we did that, there probably wouldn't be a league. Banishment doesn't work in the real world, and it won't work in the sporting world either - especially in ice hockey, which is a full-contact, fast-paced, hard-nosed and aggressive sport. All the players understand this, and the league does, too.

The only people who don't understand it are those who have never played, and who most likely never will - the "unmarried marriage counselors" who have all the answers to society's ills, yet who are mysteriously absent when the going gets tough. The very same people who would educate murderers, rapists and child-abusers and reintegrate them into society would happily hand a hockey-player a career death penalty because he failed to control himself in a stressful moment!

People: it's perfectly normal for human beings to occasionally get worked up! In the heat of the game, who knows what is going to happen? Who knows what's going to make you angry and push you over the edge? Please keep in mind, some so-called role players have only one job: to get "under the skin" of the skilled players on the other team, and to irritate them and get them off their game. If we ban the skilled player for reacting, n'tshould we also ban the role-player for his actions? And while we're at it, shouldn't we also ban the coaches who sent them out on the ice, and the general managers who hired them?

Suspensions are the league's way of dealing with these difficult situations. For you parents out there, they're like a child's "time-out". They're the league's way of saying "go to bed without any supper" they're tantamount to putting a naughty child in the corner for a while.

And let's face it, they work. Through education they try to prevent the offending player from getting over-excited in the future, and they serve as a beacon to other players who might also lose control. Are they a guarantee? No. But they are the most effective tool that any league has at their disposal to re-direct those who have lost their way.

Of course, if you do believe that hockey players should be banned altogether, then I suppose you'll have to support capital punishment too. And I suppose you'll want to send that bad-boy linebacker home when he tries to injure the opposition players. And I'm guessing that when that baseball player hits two or three line-drives right at the opposing pitcher's head, well, it must be deliberate, and you probably think he should be retired, too.

And oh my goodness, what punishment do we dole out when entire baseball teams rush out onto the field and start fighting with each other? Do we banish them all? Do we kick them all out of the league because they tried to hurt each other?

Let's get real.

Learn more about this author, James Mcdonall.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.