Save Crosby's Cranium

Sid the Kid is the best hockey player in the game and one of Canada's greatest natural treasures. Why isn't more being done to protect his noggin?

Some background for you sports philistines out there: Sidney Crosby, the greatest hockey player on earth, is out injured after receiving one, possibly two, concussions from hits to the head, neither of which resulted in discipline against the offending players. Rumour has it he will boycott the league’s all-star game unless the NHL begins to enforce rules against headshots.

“The reason for the league’s reluctance to address the concussion issue is the same one that so often paralyzes its ability to think rationally,” writes the National Post’s Kelly McParland. “It is afraid that any move that reduces violence in any form may lead to accusations of pansyism and hurt its ability to attract fans.” McParland points out that the idea that keeping rules loose protects the toughness and therefore sanctity of Canada’s game is ridiculous, because in “the glory days of the NHL, before helmets and body armour, players didn’t get hit in the head with the frequency and fiendishness they do today.” New rules should be made to reflect new developments in the sport, he argues, and The Newsroom is inclined to agree.

Noting that there have been an alarming 45 concussions in the NHL already this year, the Montreal Gazette argues that players and fans are going to have to change their attitudes if the game is going to get safer. “[V]iolence in sports is here to stay unless there is a change in the culture,” says the Gazoo. To lay some of the blame on players is apt, not only because they’re doing the hitting but also because they’re putting themselves at risk. Crosby probably received a concussion on Jan. 1 but played again Jan. 5, only to receive another vicious hit. Why would he put himself at such risk, and why would his team let him?

In this excellent article in the Toronto Star, Phil White argues “[m]asculinity … is the hidden core of this debate” and uses the examples of rule changes in rugby and football to dispel the myth that more safety leads to a less entertaining sport.