He had the audience and the opportunity. He had a right to be bitter, too. But Boston's Patrice Bergeron stayed true to form, even as he struggled with the aftereffects of a nasty hit, by taking the high road yesterday.
Bergeron, who sustained a pretty serious concussion, a broken nose and whiplash-type injuries after being hit from behind by Philadelphia's Randy Jones, spoke to the media for the first time since sustaining the near career-ending injury.
But rather than criticize Jones' punishment -- a two-game suspension -- Bergeron called on the league and his fellow players to crack down on these dangerous hits from behind. It's all about having respect for each other, he said.
Truer words, I believe, have never been spoken.
From peewees to the NHL, any player lining up an opponent needs to remember one thing -- would they want to receive the same dangerous check that they are about to deliver?
Granted, board-rattling hits are part of the game. And there's a great amount of risk involved within hockey. That doesn't mean, though, that gives anyone the right to seriously injure an opponent, intentional or not.
Let's hope that Bergeron's message resonates through every rink. If it doesn't, I'm afraid to think of what it would take to do so.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment