We've all seen NHL Ice hockey players drop their gloves and start swinging at each other. Fighting in Ice hockey has been an ongoing tradition and is an unwritten rule for many decades. Ice hockey has always been seen along the lines of being "barbaric," "boxing on ice," and "long on blood, short on teeth." And is associated with the stereotype that hockey players are nothing but "goons" who enjoy bloody fights while promoting violence to the viewers. As a die heart fan of hockey for almost all my life I can honestly say that there is nothing that can get home town crowd excited to their feet than a fight in hockey; sixteen thousand fans on their feet just by dropping the gloves, is one of the most amazing feeling in the world which cannot be seen in any other sports. In this essay, I will be arguing that fighting in Ice hockey (NHL) should be in fact allowed at the right time and right place. After all, opposite to what the stereotypes may claim, fighting in Ice hockey actually prevents more injuries than it causes as it allows plays to police themselves. Also, laws are placed for protecting the player's safety which is at the forefront of the NHL politics, leading to less thick swinging incidents. .
Fighting is part of the game of hockey which shouldn't go away because it helps to regulate aggressive players and is part of the entertainment value of the game that hockey fans enjoy. There is no doubt that hockey is an exceptionally speedy, physical, and violent sport. For people who do not have much hockey knowledge, the stereotype is generally that hockey players are nothing but "goons" who enjoy bloody fights while promoting violence. Now this is not true in any form because fighting in hockey happens all in the right time and right place which is approved by the coaches, players and the referees. Hammond (2006) described fighting as "a form of social control that has a moderating effect on the potentially serious unsanctioned violent acts between players".
