Major Misconduct: The Human Cost of Fighting in Hockey

• Fighting in team sports is not uncommon – we see it in football, baseball, basketball – but studies have shown that hockey is the biggest contributor to sports-related brain injuries in children and teens resulting from fighting or illegal moves, ranging from concussions to outright brain damage. There are growing calls for fighting to be banned, but the powers-that-be – the NHL team owners and league commissioners – have quietly rejected such calls in order to protect their profits in the misguided belief that audiences enjoy watching players fight. (Link to 2018 NYT article: https://www. nytimes. com/2018/07/24/sports/nhl-concussion-lawsuit-gary-bettman. html)

• Jeremy Allingham is a CBC reporter with a longstanding interest in the subject. He produced and presented an award-winning radio series for CBC Radio called “Major Misconduct: Why We Let Kids Fight On Ice. ” The series reached an audience of millions across Canada and received the Sports Award from the Radio Television Digital News Awards in B. C. Major Misconduct, his first book, expands on the ideas explored in the series.

• While hockey is recognized as Canada’s unofficial national sport, it enjoys a huge following in the US as well. Over 600,000 children and young adults are registered hockey players in the US, and this number includes a growing number of girls.

• In the book, Jeremy explores the world of minor league hockey in particular, where young men and women dream of stardom and financial success should they make it to the NHL. However, the reality is that very few of them will go on to become rich and famous, and in fact many have been left with debilitating long-term injuries and brain trauma that will lead to a shortened life expectancy. As a result, many former players have experienced mental health issues, estrangement from loved ones, and brushes with the law.

• Jeremy also profiles former NHL players known as “hockey enforcers, ” hired primarily as fighting machines in order to protect their teammates and entertain their fans, but when their playing days are over, who’s left to fight for them? James McEwan fought 200 times in junior in the pros and now copes with depression and anxiety through the practice of yoga and ayahuasca ceremonies. Stephen Peat fought for the Washington Capitals, but now faces drug addiction and homelessness. Dale Purinton fought for the New York Rangers, but now faces addiction and mental health challenges that nearly landed him in prison for decades.

• In the author’s own words: “I have a passionate love for hockey, but over the years, that love has been tainted by fighting. In hockey, it is tantamount to bare-knuckle boxing, and it ruins the viewing experience. Knowing what we know about the lasting devastation of traumatic brain injuries, I’m deeply confused as to why this practice is allowed to continue. ”

• Jeremy hopes his book will underscore the need for the NHL and their minor-league counterparts to review the role that fighting continues to play in hockey, despite the powers that be.

• Jeremy is an articulate and knowledgeable spokesperson on the subject.

• US publicity by Beth Parker.

© 2019 Arsenal Pulp Press (Rafbók): 9781551527727

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Rafbók: 15 oktober 2019