Grace C Plassche, Thomas A Fortney, Cole Morrissette, John F Korzelius, Charles A Popkin
{"title":"Fighting in professional ice hockey: it's time for a change.","authors":"Grace C Plassche, Thomas A Fortney, Cole Morrissette, John F Korzelius, Charles A Popkin","doi":"10.1080/00913847.2022.2078170","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ice hockey has long been defined by a level of violence not seen in other sports. The rough-and-tough vigilante nature of the game was often employed as a method of enticing fans. Play in the National Hockey League (NHL) evolved throughout the 20<sup>th</sup> century as the rules governing it did. The nuances of what was allowed on the ice was slowly defined, but the league always fell short of an outright ban on fighting. Notably, the NHL allows fighting while international and Olympic leagues do not. Proponents of fighting's continued presence in the NHL argue that it can attract fans, facilitate momentum changes, help win games, and allows for social regulation on the ice. However, analyses of these theories have found little definitive evidence, calling the utility of fighting into question. The economics of fighting in hockey reveal high salary payouts, increased cost of injury, and a lack of correlation with ticket sales. Additionally, there is a concern for concussions sustained during fighting which has the potential for long term, detrimental mental health effects for athletes. In this analysis, we explore the history and evolution of fighting in the NHL, as well as the reasons behind its continued presence in the game, the risks associated with fighting, and the economics behind it all. Based upon these bodies of evidence, we make a proposal regarding the future of fighting in the NHL.</p>","PeriodicalId":51268,"journal":{"name":"Physician and Sportsmedicine","volume":"51 5","pages":"405-413"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9000,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"5","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Physician and Sportsmedicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00913847.2022.2078170","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2022/5/30 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ORTHOPEDICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 5
Abstract
Ice hockey has long been defined by a level of violence not seen in other sports. The rough-and-tough vigilante nature of the game was often employed as a method of enticing fans. Play in the National Hockey League (NHL) evolved throughout the 20th century as the rules governing it did. The nuances of what was allowed on the ice was slowly defined, but the league always fell short of an outright ban on fighting. Notably, the NHL allows fighting while international and Olympic leagues do not. Proponents of fighting's continued presence in the NHL argue that it can attract fans, facilitate momentum changes, help win games, and allows for social regulation on the ice. However, analyses of these theories have found little definitive evidence, calling the utility of fighting into question. The economics of fighting in hockey reveal high salary payouts, increased cost of injury, and a lack of correlation with ticket sales. Additionally, there is a concern for concussions sustained during fighting which has the potential for long term, detrimental mental health effects for athletes. In this analysis, we explore the history and evolution of fighting in the NHL, as well as the reasons behind its continued presence in the game, the risks associated with fighting, and the economics behind it all. Based upon these bodies of evidence, we make a proposal regarding the future of fighting in the NHL.
期刊介绍:
The Physician and Sportsmedicine is a peer-reviewed, clinically oriented publication for primary care physicians. We examine the latest drug discoveries to advance treatment and recovery, and take into account the medical aspects of exercise therapy for a given condition. We cover the latest primary care-focused treatments serving the needs of our active patient population, and assess the limits these treatments govern in stabilization and recovery.
The Physician and Sportsmedicine is a peer-to-peer method of communicating the latest research to aid primary care physicians’ advancement in methods of care and treatment. We routinely cover such topics as: managing chronic disease, surgical techniques in preventing and managing injuries, the latest advancements in treatments for helping patients lose weight, and related exercise and nutrition topics that can impact the patient during recovery and modification.