Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Pronger punishment proving to be controversial


The eight game suspension handed out to Chris Pronger over his stomp of Ryan Kesler, isn’t being hailed as the work of an enlightened judiciary.

While Brian Burke is probably content with the number of games that Pronger will have to sit out, other than Pronger himself, Burke would be the only one who thinks justice has been served.

For the most part, the commentators, editorialists, reporters and even one or two players (especially one particular player) all seem to think that the punishment was a good number of games short of a full and proper sentence.

The nature of the decision making has also raised an eyebrow or two, as the NHL had originally decided that there wasn’t enough evidence to warrant a suspension, only to reverse themselves a day later when another angle of view popped up.

This has been referred to as the NHL’s version of the Zapruder film by Scott Burnside of ESPN, which gives you an indication as to the bit of scorn that the NHL’s justice system is beginning to attract.

Burnside was just one of many who has found a bit of a disconnect in the NHL’s interpretations of justice, below some of the others, none of whom are particularly enthused about the prospects of the NHL getting it right...

Globe and Mail--Pronger case proves the NHL has an odd sense of justice
Toronto Star--Pronger proving there's rest for wicked before start of the Stanley Cup playoffs
National Post--Time doesn’t do justice to crime in Pronger incident
Edmonton Journal--NHL shouldn't coddle Pronger any longer
CBC Sports--Pronger stomp part of NHL culture: Stewart
Hockey News Blog--League should have banned Pronger for season
Detroit Free Press--Chris Pronger's stomping incident: Is eight games enough?
USA Today--Harsh suspension warranted in Pronger stomp case

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