A fight in the USHL led to a player having a seizure on the ice while fans unknowingly cheered on. Hockey fights are still cool though right? Guys? Anyone?
The player, Dylan Chanter of the Dubuque Fighting Saints, began convulsing on the ice when Corey Petrash threw him down. The ugly scene was captured by fans in the stands.
Chanter tweeted afterward that he was ok—as ok as someone could be after suffering a seizure.
Wanted to let everyone know I'm awake and okay. Thank you so much for all your thoughts prayers. Nothing compares to the hockey community.
— Dylan Chanter (@dylanchanter) October 13, 2013
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Sometime, perhaps in the next 2-3 years, fighting will cease to exist in the NHL. It will continue on in other leagues like the USHL, where fighting is encouraged and in most cases, cheered. That’s sad.
Fighting leads to head injuries. Head injuries lead to concussions. Concussions lead to CTE. CTE leads to litigation. No league with any business sense whatsoever can continue like that.
Also, tangentially related, FIGHTING IS NOT GERMANE TO THE SPORT!
I love hockey, I’ve loved it since I was a kid. I love the nuances in the sport, the subtle deke a player gives a defenseman to catch him off balance, the agility of a goalie as he sprawls for a save.
But I don’t love fighting, not anymore. Not when I know the damage it can do to players’ lives. If that makes me a sissy, if that makes me soft, so be it.