Look at me, standing up for the little guy in his fight for workplace safety

Workers deserve to feel safe in their place of work. They deserve to feel that fellow workers won't cause them life threatening injuries. And, their managers should be all for these workers' safety as it adds to the longevity of the product. I am, of course, referring this article in Globe and Mail today. The Competition Committee met today and not only agreed to fast tracking the GMs supposed "blind-side head shots" rule, but have made it clear to the GMs/Board of Governors they believe that this is discussion isn't over.

Now clearly, I haven't done something crazy like joining the NDP (heaven forbid) but this is an issue that won't go away until something drastic is done. I've advocated more than once (through this blog and through the podcast) that I feel that any form of headshots (be it incidental or intentional) need to be banned with serious penalties (both on and off the ice) for the perpetrator. And I'm not the only one who feels this way.

As Stephen Brunt pointed out in his column (linked to in this post plus and an earlier one), we are not going to completely eliminate concussions from the game. But why shouldn't we try to limit them? Why should the game continue to be played "The way it's always been done" if that only serves to endanger the lives of men who already take considerable risks every time they step on the ice?

All sports evolve with the times. It was once acceptable for football players to target a player's head or knees. Now it isn't. It was once acceptable for baseball pitchers to spit on the ball. Now it isn't. It was once acceptable for basketball players to throw each other to floor to court on layups. Now it isn't. It was once acceptable for hockey players to play without helmets. Now it isn't. The argument that "if something has always been this way that it must remain" is tired, ill-informed and flat out wrong.

Hockey is now being played at speeds never seen before. As such, the impacts have never been seen before. There is still plenty of room from the waist to the shoulders for hard clean, body-checks. They still send a message of intimidation and in some cases injury. What there isn't room for is the posturing that headshots are part of the game; they aren't. Hopefully the NHLPA can successfully negotiate them out of the game by next year. Hockey isn't a sport for wusses. But it also isn't a sport for serious brain injuries.