It was nice to see Timmins-born T.J. Luxmore pick up a prime assignment for the NHL's opening night. Officiating a home opener where the team is raising their Stanley Cup banner has to be a treat no matter how long you have been an official.
Well, I've watched the videos and read the articles on last week's parents and even a coach's brawl at a hockey game down south. A freaking seven- and eight-year-olds' game. All the good that comes from kids' hockey gets tarnished and set back years when something like that happens. Despite the fact that a fan brawl at a kids' sporting event is very, very, very rare, the media and sports haters will parade this around on a bandwagon for weeks to come.
As of this writing, suspensions are expected to be handed down soon. I would expect and hope long-time bans are set to be in place. From what I saw, adults began chirping at each other and the chirping quickly escalated into a full-on fight. While some people jumped in to try and stop the melee it's tough to determine who was attempting peacemaking and who was combating. I heard that no charges were filed so does that mean the police were not called?
The video clearly shows people throwing and landing punches. The live barn feed provided ample footage as well. So it appears that the league, which is not sanctioned by Hockey Canada, will be responsible for implementing the appropriate punishments. There will certainly be some interesting conversations taking place in the homes of these kids in the game.
The referee noticed the fight and stopped the game and sent the kids to their benches where the kids witnessed the silliness occurring amongst the adults. What a great way to spend a day at the rink.
And like I said, incidents like this are ultra rare. But, unfortunately, they do happen. With every such incident, the punishments have to be stiffer. If not, actions like this will never be eradicated.
On one hand I actually feel bad for the combatants. Obviously, someone became overzealous and followed that up with a bad decision. That's what makes me sad. On the other hand, once you cross a line you better expect consequences. There are probably a lot of people feeling a great deal of remorse today. And hopefully apologies, accepting responsibility, adequate punishment and a learned lesson will lead to a resolution.
I don't think anyone went to the rink looking for a fight that day. Something happened that led to all of this. And while I don't condone it, I am also not going to tar and feather people for a mistake. I'll let the people of governance decide the actions to be taken. A sports venue can be a very hyper place. And sometimes people get carried away. But we need to be able to see and abide by boundaries society has in place. I genuinely hope for all involved that they come away a better person and will never be involved in something like this again.
Live and learn.
Last week's column brought some interesting comments from readers. It also sparked interest from other news sites and media. The segment about the very rare robins, with accompanying photos, sparked a lot of conversation.
Late skater.
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