The Gray Area

We applaud them for their strength.

We wait breathlessly for the next violent collision that will most certainly make all the highlight reels.

We ooh and aah as these men partake in sporting events built upon principles that exist nowhere else in society.

So what do we do when the violence we crave and expect results in horrific injuries that not only threatens to destroy a man's livelihood, but also his entire life?

Perhaps no other gray area such as violence in sports exists in the world we live in because there are laws in place to deter it from happening.

But those very same laws that send people to prison are meaningless and merely an afterthought come gameday.

It is the only arena in which physically assaulting another person is permissible and may entitle you to riches beyond your wildest dreams.

Men are bred and raised to become muscle bound behemoths for no other reason and are encouraged by family, friends, coaches, scouts, girlfriends, fans etc...to be ruthless and coldblooded once the game begins.

To do so requires an individual to develop an on-the-field persona that enables them to shut down the subconscious so that when the opportunity arises, there is no hesitation and certainly no remorse before delivering a bone-crushing hit.

On rare occasions, actions on the field go past the point of sports and require the involvement of local authorities. Anything that happens after the whistle blows is unquestionably a criminal act, even if it is accepted during the course of an event.

But what if it happens with only seconds remaining in a high school game that was basically over, but not officially over?

A high school hockey player was paralyzed after being hit from behind by an opponent whose team was guaranteed a win with two seconds left on the clock. The young man who delivered the hit was arrested on a myriad of criminal charges that potentially could have landed him in juevenille facility until he turned 21.

But was the punishment enough?

Or, was it too much?

Valid points can be made on each side of the argument and the only way I can look at this situation objectively is because it didn't affect me personally.

Circumstances definitely play a role in answering these questions as we'll use this case as a reference point.

What if this had happened early on in a tie game?

What if it was in retaliation for a similar play that left a player with a bruised knee or sprained ankle?

What if the young man wasn't paralyzed as a result of the hit, just a little woozy?

While I will concede these questions are impossible to answer, they should illustrate the point that the end result is what really matters in this situation, not the hit. The hit would have not received the attention it did if the young man walked away from it.

Dirty plays can be found in every sport. But truthfully, they are an accepted part of sports and usually occur at least once a game and sometimes the fans never even know it happened.

NFL players will pinch, grab, twist and rip anything within reach when lumped together in a pile after a play, and more importantly, after the whistle blows.

MLB pitchers will not hesitate to throw 95 mph heat directly at an opposing hitter if the situation calls for it.

NASCAR drivers will bump the car in front of them to take an advantage and don't think twice when that car slams into the wall or spins out while going 200 mph.

The list goes on and on.

But how often are we spitting venom in the direction of those who participate in acts such as these?

Just picture yourself throwing a rock the size of a baseball as hard as you possibly can at someone standing across the street from you.

Next time you're on the expressway, crank your Honda up to 100-mph and bump the person in front of you and see how cool it is when that minivan spins out of control and flips end over end.

In everyday life, these events are unthinkable and would never be tolerated. So why does sports get the free pass?

The only time anyone thinks twice about these violent acts is when the injuries that occur as a direct result go beyond routine. Like the man paralyzed at the hockey game.

This where people need to understand the double standard that is applied to sports.

Men are trained to be as ruthless as necessary on the field and sometimes it's impossible to flip the off switch towards the end, or after a game.

Are they any different than a soldier suffering from an affliction like Gulf War Syndrome?

Struggling to adjust to a life not filled with the daily violence and the desperate need for the kill or be killed mentality to survive.

I acknowledge the situations a soldier faces are completely different - and much more extreme - than those of any millionaire athlete, but the mindset is not much different.

There is no clear cut solution to any of these questions and I truly am not trying to make excuses for what happened to the young man who will never walk again.

I'm trying to show that the differences between a dirty play and a clean play, between right and wrong, between illegal and legal are not so easily understood in the world of sports. Different rules allow for different outcomes and examining each situation individually is the only short term solution.

But even then, the line between sports and life will forever be wayward and every so often everyone will get tossed into its gray area without a life preserver.




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