Monday 5 December 2011

Must Read: Punched Out: The Life and Death of a Hockey Enforcer By John Branch

In my post we looked at what I hope was fairly convincing evidence that the NHL needs to reconsider the existence of bare knuckle boxing within the game of hockey.  What I particularly wanted to emphasize--other than the fact that the NHL has not done one thing to protect their enforcers--was the idea that the choice of being an enforcer in the professional leagues is fairly complicated when one takes into account the time/money invested by parents and family, not to mention, the money and fame that a player stands to earn etc.

A better way of doing this would have been to write a six part series on the life and evolution of late NHL enforcer, Derek Boogaard.  Which, conveniently, is exactly what John Branch of the New York Times has done:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/sports/hockey/derek-boogaard-a-boy-learns-to-brawl.html

Notable and heartbreaking quotes include (but are definitely not limited to):

“Last winter, a friend said, a neurologist asked Boogaard to estimate how many times his mind went dark and he needed a moment to regain his bearings after being hit on the head, probable sings of a concussion.  Four?  Five?  Boogaard laughed.  Try hundreds, he said.”

“If you’re playing pond hockey, 6 or 7 years old, and somebody said, ‘Hey Brantt, the only way you’re going to make it to the NHL is fighting your way there,’ you think I would have done it?”  No way.  I would have done something else.”

As well as a statement made by former enforcer Brantt Myhres that attempts to put the daily stresses placed on enforcers into perspective:

“Imagine you go pick a guy that’s 6-4, 220 pounds, and say, ‘Why don’t we meet here on the street in two days, and we’ll slug it out and see how it goes?’  I guarantee [that during those three days] you’ll be a mess.”

Anyone, clinging to the idea that this is a necessary part of our game needs to read this series. Go do it now, please. 

No comments:

Post a Comment