CALGARY- Doctors across the country are slamming the NHL, for what they call ‘financially-driven complacency’ about violence in the game.
At an annual Canadian Medical Association meeting on Wednesday, delegates voted to condemn the league, saying they are too acceptant of vicious outbursts, pointing to incidents like when the Canadiens’ Max Pacioretty suffered a fractured neck after a violent hit.
“Don Cherry might disagree with me, but it’s not an inherent part of the game,” says CMA president Dr. Louis Francescutti. “Any time the goal is to send someone down the ice to purposely hurt someone else, how could we support something like that?”
He adds that the NHL needs to finally address the issue.
“In spite of the public trying to get the NHL to take this issue seriously, they haven’t. So maybe if the CMA lends its voice to it, then the NHL will take this a little more seriously.”
However, those with children involved in the game aren’t convinced the league is at fault.
“I don’t see how doctors can say ‘hockey’, hockey only,” says mother Carrie Smith. “It happens everywhere, you see it in every sport.”
“I think they’ve already started to crack down on that in the NHL,” adds mother Kathy Kenyon. “You’re starting to see more backlash against those players that are those ‘goons.’”
Hockey coach Doug Smith says he thinks that it all comes down to good old fashioned entertainment.
“I would agree that probably because the owners are in the entertainment industry, that they still have a reluctance to move it, especially with the success of UFC,” he says. “There are a lot of people who like that type of ‘energetic engagement.’”
The CMA says it won’t petition the NHL directly, saying it’s simply adding its voice to what Canadians want.
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