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When Are The Head Shots Going To End?

April 24, 2012 by

The Blackhawks Marian Hossa leaves on a stretcher thanks to a headshot delivered by the Coyotes Raffi Torres

When is it going to end? What is it going to take for reckless shots to the head of defenseless players to stop?

We’ve seen the NHL attempt to crack down on such plays. Since Brendan Shanahan was appointed the new “Czar of Discipline”, he has been handing out suspensions and fines at an alarming rate. But what has it done?

Maybe some players have thought twice about targeting an opponents head, but until there is a black and white, no discretion rule, players are going to continue to act like idiots. If one day you hand out a $2500 fine for a star player smashing another star player’s face into the glass like he’s in the WWE, but then give a non star player a 3 game suspension for an elbow to the side of the head, what kind of message are you sending?

This hit only warrants a $2,500 fine….

But this one….3 game suspension

When Shanahan dropped the hammer on Raffi Torres for his flying leap off the top rope to the head of Marian Hossa, I was shocked. Granted, Torres is a repeat offender for these types of hits, but I couldn’t believe that he got a 25 game suspension. I was expecting something in the 5-10 game range.

But here’s the difference between the NHL and the NBA. Ron “Metta World Peace” Artest, delivered an elbow to the head of James Harden that you would only see in a UFC fight. I have never seen/heard such a cowardly reaction by someone who has committed an action like that.

First off, he never even reacts to his elbow striking the neck/jaw/skull of another human being. Then to try to explain to the ref he had no idea he even hit Harden is beyond belief. Dude, you ran INTO Harden. There was contact before you decided to rear your elbow back, with a cocked fist, then drive your elbow into his dome. Then the best of it all was his fake Twitter comments. The fake cry out for sympathy is pathetic.

Now, if David Stern had any kind of balls, he would treat this like when Kermit Washington knocked Rudy Tomjanovich the “fuggout” with “The Punch”. Washington nearly killed Tomjanovich and was given, a then NBA record, 25 game suspension and $10k fine.

If Stern were to go by NHL standards and use the “repeat offender” rule in his decision, I would imagine Artest would get a suspension in the range of 30-40 games. After all, we are talking about the guy who charged into the stands and fought fans in Detroit.

But why would I ever imagine that the NBA would drop the hammer on this type of player?  This league and product are a complete joke. You have guys with crazy on and off the floor actions that go unpunished or essentially swept under the rug.  For me at least, the NBA needs to follow the NHL here and hammer Metta Ron Artest Peace…