Recent incidents in the NFL and NHL demonstrate how officials, players, and fans responded to collisions that caused bodily harm. Should we accept these incidents as part of the game or consider them unacceptable sporting behavior?
Street justice, it might be stated, has remained the actionable piece of the “tough guy” problem-solving model for as far back as our distant memories may take us. When we feel violated, the knee-jerk response is to confront the offender, perhaps challenging them even at the risk of our liability and safety. There is satisfaction in that primal response of getting right up in the face of the person who messes with us or those we love, whether it be our teammates, friends, or family.
It might be one of the main reasons we stay in shape, lift weights, take Ju-Jitsu, or pound away at the heavy bag in the garage to let off some steam. We never quite know if and when someone might take a random shot at us. If we are prepared for a confrontation, then we can respond in such a manner that the offender would never dream of stepping on us again, right?
Well, maybe not in pro sports, where there have been long-lasting traditions of swift, decisive, and often violent reactions from players and coaches who might have felt that a dirty hit or a cheap shot came upon one of their own. Such testosterone-fueled responses can rally the crowd in attendance and shift the momentum.
Consequences typically involve a swift and punishable response from the league office and the commissioner. Do we need both of these reactions? Likely not. Athletes are now trained to become more aware of concussion evaluation and management protocol. They understand and (usually) accept the suspensions and fines for players who may have caused a player to enter the protocol for a concussion. As fans, we have held a long-standing dependency on street justice when our teams and players are attacked in ways that are deemed reckless. Perhaps it is time to break free from this. Here are a couple of recent examples of the diplomatic and progressive approach that might be more reflective of our increasingly litigious society.
“The Hit” (photo courtesy YouTube)
This past Sunday, the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars were holding the Houston Texans to a 6–0 lead when Trevor Lawrence took it upon himself to jump-start his offense by running for a first down. After sliding feet-first to the mark, Lawrence was met with a head-to-head smash hit from linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. The hit seemed to have knocked Lawrence out cold as teammates and benches cleared, with Jaguars players running to Lawrence’s defense and the Texans players throwing fists to ensure that Al-Shaair wasn’t crushed by the mob.
Chaos ensued for a few moments until, eventually, cooler heads prevailed, and everyone directed their attention to the most essential matter at hand: Lawrence’s condition. The 25-year-old former #1 pick will undergo strict concussion protocol over the next several weeks, which will involve extensive rest, screening, and testing through the SCAT5 (Sports Concussion Assessment Tool).
Lawrence seems unlikely to return to play this season, but thankfully, initial reports suggest that he will be okay, and fans can look forward to his return in 2025. As for Azeez, it was clear he had no intent to injure Lawrence. He was only doing his job, looking to physically contain the offense in what could have been an essential and pivotal play in the game.
However, the league handed down a three-game suspension (without pay), and he has since appealed. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said following the game that the Jags eventually lost 23-20, “It’s a play that nobody in our league wants to see. You see what happens after the fact, and it just escalates.”
While acknowledging that the hit was an excessive use of force, Tom Brady started a discussion through his socials, indicating that perhaps a penalty should be enforced on the offensive side to deter the quarterback from sliding—the exact move Lawrence made that almost invited the possibility of head-to-head contact with the defense.
One positive takeaway from this unfortunate incident is the acknowledgment that a knee-jerk reaction of players storming the field and offering immediate street justice in the way of a brawl serves no purpose. Moreover, the hit and its aftermath have led people of influence, in terms of policy and rules in the game, to look towards brainstorming ways of preventing this incident from happening again.
While that is the storyline in the NFL, the same approach doesn’t seem to be the direction in hockey, where bravado and testosterone continue to dictate popular opinion of how a player should respond to a questionable hit or a “cheap shot.”
Take, for example, Pittsburgh Penguin Noel Acciari’s recent high-elbow and blindside hit on Juraj Slafkovsky, the Montreal Canadien’s former #1 pick and a rising star. His teammates scrambled to his defense as Slafkovsky was lying momentarily in a dazed and confused prone position on the ice.
Tensions rose throughout the game until the final seconds. With Pittsburgh ahead 3-1, Montreal sent 6’4, 240 lb Arber Xhekaj out for a shift and what appeared to be a coordinated retaliatory attack on the 5” 11, 209 pound Acciari. First attempting a career-threatening knee-on-knee hit, Xhekaj would move towards fighting Acciari. Despite holding his own, it appeared that Xhekaj got the better of the fight, which Xhekaj unquestionably initiated. Meanwhile, both players and fans applauded the display of fisticuffs.
Kevin Bieksa and Luke Gazdic, former players, spoke about the incident on Hockey Night in Canada. They said it was a “good team reaction from Montreal (at the end of the game), and that’s why you want a guy like Xhekaj. “
I do not want to portray Xhekaj as a goon, as that singular designation is all but gone today in most hockey circles. But Bieksa suggested that street justice was more than welcome and should be commended when used as a retaliation strategy. Fellow panelist Jennifer Botterill, a three-time gold medalist in women’s hockey and an NCAA record-breaking scoring champ at Harvard, strongly disagreed. “The game is changing, and (it) doesn’t have to be this way.”
Perhaps someone with Botterill’s intellect and resume can lead this conversation, but (no doubt) competing with a panel like the one at Hockey Night in Canada will be challenging.
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Resources: www.hockeydb.com, www.nfl.com, Rogers SportsNet
