In Harbour Grace, Nfld., a senior hockey league player punched a fan who'd been antagonizing him. Adam Proteau reacts.
The hockey world is a passionate one. At all levels of the game, emotions run high and sometimes players make decisions that lead to consequences.
That was the case in Harbour Grace, Nfld., on Oct. 26, when a player in the Avalon East Senior Hockey League punched a fan at the Danny Cleary Community Centre, according to CBC.
The player, Justin Pender of the Clarenville Caribous, was ejected from the game in the third period. He was then confronted by a fan, John Drover, who was seen gesturing at him just outside the dressing room. Video of the incident shows Pender then throwing a stick in Drover’s direction, before running towards him and repeatedly punching him, as another player attempts to break it up.
Pender received a three-game suspension from the league on Nov. 1. Harbour Grace mayor Don Coombs told CBC that Pender and Drover may also be banned from entering the town-owned rink.
"You can't come into public buildings and act in that manner, no matter what the reason," Coombs said.
Clarenville's manager told CBC the fans shouldn't have been allowed in the players' area, and the proper security measures would have prevented the incident from happening in the first place. That's fair, and we’re certainly not suggesting fans are always right in their actions, but that doesn't justify this incident. The “hey, he had it coming” mentality some have mentioned online in reaction to the incident still does not justify anything.
The proper thing Pender should’ve done was either to let the fan have it verbally or — better yet — ignored him altogether. Physical violence and vigilantism is never the answer for situations like this.
It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about pro hockey, amateur hockey or any kind of hockey in between – you have to show basic control over your actions. There must be a line that says anyone can go to a game and not feel threatened for their well-being, while misbehaving fans should be held accountable in the appropriate fashion and not the vigilante way.
If there isn’t, hockey will be lesser for it.
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