Should Pre-Meditated Violence in Hockey Be Tried in Criminal Courts?
The situation that took place on March 8th, 2004, during the game between Vancouver Canucks and Colorado Avalanche could never be left without attention neither by press, nor by fans of hockey. This issue was a burning topic for over a year, and till this time the question about whether the decision about the punishment was fair toward Tom Bertuzzi, bothers a huge number of people. This is not even a question about the occasion that happened itself, and it is not as much about the quality of our justice. This is a serious issue for the whole world of sport, and hockey as a part of it, from the point of ethics, sport ethics which should exist in every field of sport, during each game, between all the players, judges and others, who are somehow involved in sport. 
So, was the decision, carried out about Tom’s action, that if he “performs 80 hours of community service and meets his probation requirements, he won't have a criminal record” (http://cbs.sportsline.com/nhl/story/8030979/1) fair? My answer is NO. And throughout this paper I will try to do my very best effort to prove why I think so. I will be trying to prove this point for the purpose of convincing that pre-meditated violence in hockey should be considered just in the game itself, with penalties and short suspensions, but should not be considered a criminal act which should be tried in criminal courts. I decided to use this very case, because it was the most recent display of severe pre-meditated violence, which has brought up the concern about the tolerability of the fierce aggression in the world of modern professional hockey. I will use arguments from both sides: from those who support Tom, and from those who consider the injury of Steve Moore, not just an accident which should not be given serious attention to, since that is the world of sport, which is often violent. 
Main arguments that are used by the supporters of Tom Bertuzzi are quite the same and look as follows: Tom Bertuzzi is not that guilty, because sport is often violent, especially if we speak about hockey. People are often coming to the hockey games not as much with the purpose of watching the game itself, as with the purpose of seeing the violence that is displayed during those games. Also they claim that fights on the ice are not new to the hockey and such a big deal is made over the issue just because Moore was carried from the ice on the stretcher: “I think the entire thing is over rated and it's all caused by Moore being carried off in a stretcher.” (http://www.newrecruit.org/archives/2004/march/toddbertuzzivs).  Among other excuses that are claimed to be relevant is the fact that less then a month before the event, there was another violent issue between Vancouver Canucks and Colorado Avalanche, in which Steve Moore was involved. On February 16th, 2004 he had hit “Canucks captain Markus Naslund, who got a concussion and missed three games.” (http://www.sportsline.com/nhl/story/7163876). The protectors of Tom claim that even though the “revenge” was quite severe, Steve Moore was the one who had caused it in the first place. And this is all in spite of the fact that the National League of Hockey warned both teams from retaliating. All these arguments are normally used to protect the point that the pre-meditated violence in hockey should be considered just in the game itself, with penalties and short suspensions, but should not be considered a criminal act which should be tried in criminal courts.
What can I say about these arguments? Should I say that they are completely pointless? That would not be smart. As a matter of fact, any opinion has a right to be, since if it has once appeared, there was a reason for that. What I can do though, is simply severely argue those points from my own perspective of understanding of what is the sport ethics about. 
First of all I would like to remind what ethics is: “Ethics is a general term for what is often described as the "science (study) of morality"” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EthIcs). 
Secondly, let’s investigate whether such term as morality and therefore ethics is relevant to professional sport in whole. Professional sport is a constant fight with yourself, if you are a part of it, as an athlete. Every day you are to put your best effort forward to achieve the result that you are expected to beat. It is true that in sport, especially in professional one, victories are not always fair, whether it is hockey, football, soccer or gymnastics. Sometimes it is caused by unhidden violence on the field, sometimes - the violence is hidden, though it still takes place, when an athlete has to give up quite a number of things to be able to stay on the top of the list. Or when he finds out right before the start of the contest that his/her skates are unserviceable, or that the car they were supposed to drive during the race had no wheels. How many examples like that does the history of professional sport know? Boundless plenty!! One has to have an extremely strong will and unbelievable stubbornness to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. 
Professional sport is always a pressure, and most of the time coaches demand unbelievable things from those who are under their command. This type of lifestyle after a certain period of time often develops in athletes a feeling that the word combination “sport ethics” was made up for the commercials that the managers of teams are using for promotion of the institutions that they represent. And consequently, sportspersons are often not ultimately concerned with the issue of ethics during the contests as well. How could it be different if they are treated in the same manner by those who supervise them? 
Let us look on the life story of Todd Bertuzzi, whose case has brought public attention to violence in hockey. As far as what it takes to become a professional hockey player – he had everything. He started playing it since he was a child on the frozen lakes; he was working hard to become one of the strongest players. However, as we can see from his biography, one of the main features of Bertuzzi, as a hockey-athlete was the violent temper of playing: “On the ice, Todd Bertuzzi's size and aggressive nature terrified both opponents and his own teammates.” (http://www.kidzworld.com/site/p3874.htm?FreeBert.com). And his behavior on ice was not a coincidence. Again in the story of his life we find that his babysitter described him as a “hellraiser”, which means that violent temper of Tom had a permanent character. However, it seems that this very feature of his was the main joker for the career in hockey. He was eagerly accepted in the best teams, while the owners of the teams were happy to boast with such a terror for the rival team. 
And now let me pose a question: whose fault was it that Steve Moore was one step away from death? Tom Bertuzzi only? I would not agree with that. The whole concept of the ethics in sport should be straightened up. Every sport should start with the behavioral upbringing of the athletes and coaches. Strict rules should be set, not just in the form of code of ethics, observance and maintenance of which would be on the conscience of some committee, but a set of laws, which will have a zero tolerance for violence in any shape or form. And it should concern not only straight violence, which we saw on the 8th of March, 2004. 
Unfortunately the question of whether pre-meditated violence in hockey should be considered not just in the game itself, with penalties and short suspensions, but as a criminal act which should be tried in criminal courts, was raised only as a result of fierce violence displayed on the eyes of eighteen thousands people, present on the game, and after millions had seen it on television all over the world. 
As far as arguments against the action of Tom Bertuzzi during the game of March 8th, 2004, there are plenty. Certainly the fact that lies on top of the whole issue is unhidden fierce violence performed towards Steve Moore. It is not a matter of dispute, that this is not the only act of violence in the hockey over the past time. However, it is definitely one of the most screaming ones. 
Through a thorough research I have found several other cases of fierce aggression on the hockey ice. Here are a couple examples of the biggest ones over the past fifty years: “In 1988, Minnesota’s Dino Ciccarelli was convicted of assault for hitting Toronto’s Luke Richardson on the head with his stick. Ciccarelli was sentenced to one day in jail and fined. In 1969, Wayne Maki of St. Louis and Ted Green of Boston became the first NHL players sent to court after a stick-swinging duel in a preseason game. Both were acquitted of assault charges.”(http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5288046/). 
As it was reasonably mentioned on one of the forums dedicated to this topic, an uncountable number of careers in hockey have been ruined due to the players who were unable to control their tempers. (http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/your_call.asp?messageId=400272&hubname=nhl). If we speak about the given case, it is hard to make predictions about the perspective of Steve Moore’s career in hockey, after the injury he had suffered. As a matter of fact, during one of his interviews in December of 2004, which took place more then nine moths after the accident, Steve complained that he up to that moment had not fully recovered from the injury: "I still suffer from significant post-concussion symptoms which prevent me from living a fully normal life," Moore said Thursday. "I'm just not the same person I was." (http://cbs.sportsline.com/nhl/story/8030979/1). 
One of the documents, which I have investigated during my research, was the Hockey Coaching Code of Ethics (http://www.masshockey.com/PDF/CoachingEthics.pdf). Unfortunately, I did not have the corresponding one for the athletes in front of me, however, the one I mentioned above provided a lot of interesting information, which can be directly connected with the subject of violence in hockey. Generally this document stipulates a lot of issues that concern appropriate behavior of a coach toward their athletes, colleagues and others who might be in any way connected to the world of professional hockey, whom they can affect. This code also states some general principles of coaching, relationships between coaches and players, and a significant part of it is dedicated to the regulations of what actions should be undertaken if the breakage of the rules stated had been discovered.
Under the heading Ethical Standards, in the section of General Standards, I have found two important paragraphs, numbered one and eleven: from paragraph 1(Applicability of the Ethics Code): “all coaches should be sensitive to their position as role models for their athletes”, paragraph 11(Avoiding Harm): “Coaches take reasonable steps to avoid harming their athletes or other participants, and to minimize harm where it is foreseeable and unavoidable” (http://www.masshockey.com/PDF/CoachingEthics.pdf).
Should not these paragraphs of the Code of Ethics put at least some responsibility for the violence in sport on coaches? How is it happening that the most severe penalty for fierce aggression is some soft penalty and monetary compensation? From my point of view, the two points from the Code of Ethics that I quoted above are constantly violated in the real world of professional hockey nowadays. And what is even worse – nothing is done to protect it or to even bring it up! Maybe the problem lies even deeper? Maybe it lies in the society, which is not caring deep in their hearts for eliminating the aggressive and violent character of such sports as hockey. Maybe the values have gone so low that the majority is going to the instincts of ancient people, for whom the vision of blood was one of the greatest pleasures? 
Possibly the reasons listed above are a part of the problem. However, I think that the main problem is that in the Code of Ethics, I have not found concrete examples of when the case should be escorted to court for the trial and considered a criminal act. At the same time I have found that almost one forth of it is dedicated to the problem of sexual and romantic relationships between the former athletes and their coaches. It is strictly forbidden to have them unless two years have gone by. What is that all about, I wonder? Is that what is so important nowadays in Hockey? I am strongly hesitant about it.
However, from the other side, I would say that the issue of pre-meditated violence should be not only included in the Code of Ethics. This problem must be a concern of the courts and be considered a criminal crime. My strong belief is that severe violators of the Rules should be put under trials and go to jails for their actions, otherwise in a couple decades of years major sports may turn to one big show called fights without rules. Is that what we are looking for? I hope not.
The answer to the question of whether it is theoretically possible to punish a severe violator of rules through the court is yes. Nevertheless, there is a small problem which is well known to everyone, however it remains unchanged. There is no law that specifically exempts athletes from being prosecuted for assaults that occur during competitions, so it is theoretically possible that a prosecutor could file charges every time a winger gets cross-checked or sucker punched. However, there is a gentleman's agreement of sorts that exists between professional sports leagues and the authorities: as long as the National Hockey League polices itself, and metes out fines and suspensions to offenders, prosecutors generally leave it alone. (http://slate.msn.com/id/2096977/#ContinueArticle). 
Certainly, if we will start speaking about passing the issues of pre-meditated violence in hockey to court, we undoubtedly will be getting a huge number of critiques. I think at the first place it would be mentioned that in the American society it would be very difficult to avoid cases similar by their character to the ones with woman, who spilled hot water on her lap and won the case from McDonalds or a guy who won the case for a couple billions dollars by suing Phillip Morris, because he had been smoking as crazy all his life. Of course some stupid cases are unavoidable. However, from my point of view, first of all, we should not allow a precedent for carrying out satisfactory decisions for obviously stupid suits. 
On the other hand, what from my perspective is way more important here is that athletes who are predisposed to the violent behavior on ice, would have a 
significantly greater punishment to fear, then a simple suspension from playing, several hours of community services, and some amount off their bank accounts. I am sure that as soon as the first player who broke someone’s neck will go to jail, the level of violence in hockey will be significantly lower on a very next day. Yet it is unquestionably impossible to see the results of something, that is not implemented.
It is well understood that in hockey, as well as in some other sports, it is impossible to eliminate the body contact among the players, including the ones from the rival teams. Also it is understandable, that players, especially in hockey cannot be protected from ever falling on the ice. However a premium concern of the National League of Hockey should be ensuring that the rules of a game are respected and kept and that the violators of those rules are severely punished. 
Let us get back to Bertuzzi-Moore case for a moment. Certainly one would not say that suspension from playing for the rest of the season, eighty hours of community service, charges and a warning not to do things like that again cannot be considered as ignorance of the National Hockey League toward the problem that occurred. As well as it would be unfair to say that tears of Tom Bertuzzi during his public apologize for his actions toward Steve Moore were a regular farce or PR action. 
I believe that Bertuzzi does deep in his heart regret for what he had done. I am in the same way convinced that the National Hockey League is concerned with the problem of violence in this sport. However, I am not sure that for Steve Moore that is enough. And even more I am not sure whether the action by Bertuzzi had not a significant impact on the history of hockey in whole. Who knows, what could have Moore been able to achieve if he had not suffered that injury. And would he ever suffer it, if the players in the National Hockey League were aware that pre-meditated violence in hockey is considered a criminal act which is tried in criminal courts. Frankly speaking, I think that the accident would have been avoided at the first place, because Moore in the game that took place on February 16th, 2004 might have been way more careful with Markus Naslund. As far as the question about whether Tom has done that intentionally, my firm answer is yes. It is absolutely obvious.
From the analysis provided above, which was based on a thorough research on the question of whether and why pre-meditated violence in hockey should be considered a criminal act ant and tried in criminal courts, we can state that the firm answer is yes. As far as the answer to the question that I posed in the beginning of my paper of whether or not the decision that was made toward the player of Vancouver Canucks, Tom Bertuzzi was fair or not, I am sure that the facts that were provided in this paper show that that decision was not relevant for such a severe violation of the rules. 
As we can see, the case with Steve Moore and Tom Bertuzzi demonstrates that necessity to put severe violators under the trial exists. Also it is very important to implement sport ethics in hockey. It should not be just a pure phrase, which has no meaning behind itself in real life. It is extremely important that the message of integrity and respect be instilled in all players. It is true that hockey is not dance from the Swan Lake Ballet; however, it is significant that elimination of violence should be the main concern of the National Hockey League. While the sales of tickets to those who are eager to watch players fighting, rather then performing a qualitative game, should be left aside. 
Bibliography
1.	Tod Bertuzzi vs. media. Retrieved July 17th, 2005 from http://www.newrecruit.org/archives/2004/march/toddbertuzzivs
2.	NHL suspends Bertuzzi for rest of season, playoffs. Retrieved July 17th, 2005 from http://www.sportsline.com/nhl/story/7163876
3.	Ethics. Wikipedia. Retrieved July 17th, 2005 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EthIcs
4.	Todd Bertuzzi Biography. Retrieved July 17th, 2005 from http://www.kidzworld.com/site/p3874.htm?FreeBert.com
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