Tuesday's notes: Who is to blame for the Vancouver riots?
by Dirk Hoag on Sep 6, 2011 7:42 AM EDT
in Nashville Predators News
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When a major sporting event is followed by a riot in the streets of a city, is the league to blame? That question is being raised in Vancouver.
While reading this morning's notes, take a listen to an interview which former NHLer Kelly Chase gave yesterday, dropping a lot of common sense about some of the charges that have been raised over the last week over whether or not the NHL and NHLPA are systematically failing hockey players:
Kerber Chase KMOX 20110905 (mp3)
And now, your news...
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I'm shocked, shocked I say, to hear that the City of Vancouver is laying blame for the Stanley Cup riots on the NHL. No, I'm sure the city government didn't contribute to this at all...
Why not hold NHL responsible for playoff riots? | mc79hockey.com
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I must be a cranky old fart... I just don't get it.
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You have to think things like this will become more common in the years ahead.
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IDIOTS
are to blame. thats not a shots at nucks fans… i mean the idiots that actually have no better sense or self control.
I’m greatly disappointed in the good mayor of Vancouver. To blame the NHL for the riots in the streets by people who did not even attend the games is ludicrous and shows just how largely incompetent and useless most elected officials are. The city allowed booze and then when the young people got soused and destructive, passed the buck to the NHL. I have a feeling Mr. Mayor will looking for a job after the next election. A cursory read of the replies to the news article shows that the voters are not buying it.
"I am you, you are me, and we are all together" Beatles
TO VANCOUVER: Own it, guys. Not your best moment. Not the NHL’s fault.
TO KELLY CHASE: The fact that Tyson Nash (and apparently a few other ex-NHLers on Twitter) don’t know about the programs that are available to him is a problem that can be very easily addressed. If the help is there and people who need it don’t know about it, it isn’t doing them any good. Better communication, maybe?
TO RYAN PORTH: Pekka needs rest, Lindy needs starts. I hereby veto your 70 games projection.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, and Boogaard.
I'm still wondering
When is Vancouver going to accept that they and they alone are responsible for the riots. First they try to say that none of the participants were Canucks fans, just anarchists disguised as Canucks fans, (Those clever little anarchists) and now they’re trying to blame the NHL for their failures?
The article states that there have been riots in 4 of the last 5 seasons. Ok, great. You want the NHL to have a policy to help prevent them? Let’s move all the teams out of Canada since that’s where the riots seem to be happening.
Yes, that was a ludicrous statement, but no more ludicrous than blaming the NHL for the behavior of the idiots on the streets of Vancouver that night. Oh, and btw, there wasn’t a whole lot of class on display inside the building either, but it didn’t turn into a riot. That was a venue the NHL had a little more control over.
by Predaceous on Sep 6, 2011 8:59 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
From this Puck Daddy article about the Vancouver report:
The report reads “four Stanley Cup riots in the last five years”; what it meant to say was Edmonton (2006), Montreal (2008), Montreal (2010) and Vancouver (2011).
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, and Boogaard.
You left out the best part of the article:
Actually, based on the city’s findings, there’s really only one sure way to prevent rioting in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: Not allowing Canadian teams to participate in them.
The report reads “four Stanley Cup riots in the last five years”; what it meant to say was Edmonton (2006), Montreal (2008), Montreal (2010) and Vancouver (2011). So yes, the NHL can take a very active role in preventing Stanley Cup rioting by not allowing Canadian cities to have nice things.
:)
Flash Mob
What’s to get? It’s a Flash Mob. That’s what they do. The point is to just enjoy it, not look for some deep, ethereal meaning behind it. At least they played “We Are The Champions.” That makes sense.
If flash mobs weren't dead before...
Once an NHL player starts organizing flash mobs you know that trend has long jumped the shark.
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It was just so fake and staged. Flash mobs got whatever entertainment value they had from the fact that they were spontaneous, not rehearsed and (probably) paid for by some PR company.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, and Boogaard.
Flash mobs are always rehearsed and staged. They only have the perception of being spontaneous, but the truth is there are safety concerns to think about and permissions that must be obtained (police, city etc). There’s a group here in Nashville that does stuff around town and people always seem to like them. If Flash Mobs jumped the shark then they wouldn’t be newsworthy, yet there they were on WSMV.
"[This] clearly … threatens the value and perception of their brand."
Really? Canucks fans rioting in the streets reflects poorly on the NHL? Hadn’t Vancouver fans already shown their disdain for the league, its commissioner, the Stanley Cup and the Boston Bruins with a deafening cascade of boos at the trophy presentation after the game? Only pretzel logic would justify the study’s conclusion. Indeed, it was the value and perception of the Vancouver Canucks and their fans that was damaged.
by Hockey Hillbilly on Sep 6, 2011 9:42 AM EDT reply actions
Clearly they don't deserve hockey in Vancouver
They should move that team to the American South where our mamas taught us to behave like civilized human beings.
by Melissa Vanderpool Wallace on Sep 6, 2011 10:19 AM EDT up reply actions
Except when Ryan Kesler scores in OT
in Nashville.
Huh?
Did I miss the part where drunken miscreants burned and looted Nashville?
by Melissa Vanderpool Wallace on Sep 6, 2011 2:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Throwing trash on the ice...
…. even as bad as a call that was on Weber and subsequent goal by Kesler, there was no reason for the Predators fans throwing bottles, cups, towels and trash onto the ice.
Not nice for sure
but I’d hardly equate it with what happened in Vancouver. Maybe if we can get further in the playoffs, we can work up to riots.
by Melissa Vanderpool Wallace on Sep 7, 2011 9:46 AM EDT up reply actions
I’m done with the Vancouver riots. It was awful that the Canucks lost in 7 (why didn’t they start Schnieder?). You have to remember that half the population’s brain has been damaged by weed.
The untimely death topic is really important. My stance toward fighting changed after this summer. Kelly Chase is wrong, these deaths are connected. Changes do need to be made.
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that marijuana had absolutely nothing to do with those riots.
There's only two kinds of teams in the NHL: Predators and prey.
I can't blame fighting or the league or the sport for these deaths
There’s just not enough evidence for that. I would agree that the “enforcer” role may make things worse for some guys, but there are too many people not involved in hockey who do the same things for there to be a clear causal relationship. We also have nothing in front of us talking about how many of these enforcers are not in this kind of crisis. We have anecdotes, and as someone once said, the plural of anecdote is not data.
I do, however, think that the league and the PA ought to take a look at their practices and make sure that they are meeting the needs of the players. If the word is not getting out to the guys, for instance, that’s a problem that can be addressed. If drugs are too readily available, perhaps there is something that can be done to address that as well. I would love to see more done for awareness, but that is a problem for society in general, too. The NHL could take a step forward on this, but just because its a good and positive thing to do, not because they have done something to “cause” young men to be self-destructive.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, and Boogaard.
Fighting makes hurts your brain.
There’s evidence for that. There might be a time coming when enforcers are unnecessary. With all the concussions and suspensions without pay I wouldn’t be surprised if fighting in this league begins to tail off. Yes, drugs are too readily available but some are taking drugs for pain and/or depression. There is little the NHL can do about legal drugs. It does have drug testing though. Maybe it should test during the off-season as well.
Suicide is a decicision made by an individual
and those who make it are usually in no mental condition to be making decisions at all. Certainly not life and death ones.
The NHL has far better resources available to current and former players than are available to the average person and by all accounts Boogaard, Rypien and Belak were taking advantage of that help to at least some degree. Suicide and accidents(which is how most overdoses are classified) are 2 of the top 3 causes of death for young men. It is unfair and unreasonable to blame the NHL for reflecting society as a whole.
by Melissa Vanderpool Wallace on Sep 6, 2011 12:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Brain injuries hurt your brain. Do hockey players who get in more fights have more brain injuries? There is some evidence that, in fact, hitting the boards causes more concussions than fighting. What about the guys who have had no known concussions? What about non-enforcers who have problems, whether its drugs or mental health issues? We’re hearing a lot of stories from guys saying they hated the role, and that’s fantastic. Let’s open it up for discussion. But we have only stories, not systematic data. Before we place blame, let’s get the data.
Fighting may be going away but that’s another issue, as is the drug issue. Fighting is diminishing as much because of the changing dynamics of the sport as it does with injuries. It makes less sense now to invest in a player who can only do one thing than it used to. As far as drugs, the league could certainly look into how trainers and team medical personnel dispense drugs “legally”, but they might also look into the availability of drugs through other sources. Will it work? Maybe not, but pretending it isn’t happening won’t work either.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, and Boogaard.
CAustin posted this
on August 16th about Rick Rypien’s death and it pretty much sums it up for me.
“The hockey community has a clear opportunity to address mental health issues, both for the players and in the community at large. May we have the fortitude to tackle this issue and seize this moment before the deaths of Rypien and Boogard fade from public view. Amen”
The NHL and the hockey community have an unprecedented forum to address and combat depression and suicide. Rather than seeking to place blame, we all need to take this chance to become better educated and speak out about mental health issues. Because of the stigma placed on mental illness, too many people suffer in silence. It is time to help break that silence.
by Melissa Vanderpool Wallace on Sep 6, 2011 1:24 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
And to add one final thing--this is National Suicide Prevention Week
http://tspn.org/the-facts-about-suicide
I’m off the soapbox now.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, and Boogaard.
Other than the three guys being NHL enforcers how do their deaths have anything in common. It’s been leaked that Belak’s death was accidental, not intentional. Sorry, I just don’t buy that being an NHL enforcer is the problem. If it was then we’d have seen a lot more examples than these three and it would have happened way before now.
The people under that could of smoke watching the riot and giggling? maybe.
There's only two kinds of teams in the NHL: Predators and prey.
Marijuana can make you paranoid and angry, too, not just hungry and silly.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, and Boogaard.
You may know some potheads who like to start riots. I don’t. In any case, I don’t think weed is the problem. Seems a little bold to lay this at the feet of the NHL. Was a sad event for an otherwise great, great city.
I ain’t saying it was the Great Weed Riot of 2011. But if you think there was NO pot in the whole thing, I’ve got a nice bridge for sale. (And yes, I’ve seen some pretty dangerous potheads.)
I never blamed the NHL, so I’m assuming that you are making a general comment, not replying to me on the last part. Like I said before, Vancouver need to own up to their crap. Vancouverites did it, and the City of Vancouver made it easier for them. All the NHL did was schedule and play a game.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, and Boogaard.
Why do they riot in Vancouver? Why in Britain? Europe?
We can kick around dozens of reasons, but one reoccuring theme of these countries is there embracing of an ideal where certain “services”(healthcare, internet, transportation, retirement, etc) should be free…..and when the countries run out of other peoples money, requiring some payment, the huddled masses riot. Why? Because the rule of law has broken down, thier is no real punishment established and no real punishment rendered.
Tics in Vancouver are expensive…..
Huh?
There have been plenty of riots in the US, too.
Managing Editor of On the Forecheck, SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators, and founder of HockeyGearHQ, a site devoted to hockey equipment and accessories. Catch me on Twitter, or join OTF on Facebook!
Just in case that was unclear: Pretty much everything that sparked the American Revolution; multiple anti-abolition, pro-slavery, anti-immigrant and anti-black riots in the 19th century along with 4 or 5 slave rebellions (depending on how you count them); bread riots in the Civil War and Reconstruction; labor riots and strikes from the 1700s to the present; anti-Chinese, anti-Hispanic, anti-Klan, anti-Nazi, pretty much anti-everything, up to some very recent ones like the 1968 National Democratic Convention, Kent State and other student riots in the late sixties and early 70s; the Rodney King Riots; sports riots starting in the 1980s.
It goes on from there, well into the 2000s. I have a 4 page list somewhere.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, and Boogaard.
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