HyperionTheEvil HyperionTheEvil:
My concern is with hockey players who seem to think that they are somehow more 'special' than the rest of us.
I've never met a hockey player who had the attitude that they are "more 'special' than the rest of us". Yes, some of them have big egos and think they are better hockey players than the rest, but as for being "special" over the rest of the population of the world... never. Not in my personal experience. The players I know and have had the pleasure of meeting are the kindest, most wonderful people I know. Even the guys who are fighters on the ice.
As for fighting in the NHL - I'm all for it. You can't expect a guy to take a cheap shot and just shrug it off or expect his teammates to just let it go either. If they aren't aloud to fight, they'll find other ways to take out their aggression; others have already pointed that out so I am not going to repeat them. If a guy just sits back and takes cheap shots and doesn't defend himself or his teammates don't jump in to help him out then his entire career will be taking hits and nothing else. If someone hit you first, what would you do? Fight back to defend yourself or just cower against the wall and take it till they decided they were done with you? Unless you're crazy, you're going to fight back.
Speaking as the sister of a hockey player who had to watch her brother take a lot of cheap shots while he was on the ice I can say I was never happier than when he or one of his teammates decided enough was enough and let the guy(s) on the other team have it after they'd gotten away with several cheap shots. If girls had been allowed on the team you can bet I'd have been on the team, and the first to drop the gloves to defend my brother and the rest of the team as well. With guys who like to play dirty, that's the only way to tell them you're not going to take it from them. If you let them do it, then they will never let up on you. Give 'em a fight, they'll think twice about messing with you in the future.