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According to Dr. Charles Tator, a Toronto neurosurgeon speaking at a seminar about concussions, Hockey Night in Canada's sartorial peacock Don Cherry is to blame for all the savagery in the great game of hockey, and all players should send their medical bills to him. All right, he may not have said the latter part, but he might as well have for how inane the first claim was.
"He's a negative influence," Dr. Charles Tator told CBC News in reference to Cherry, a popular personality on Hockey Night in Canada. "The aggressive, lack-of-respect hockey that he preaches — we need to get that out of the game."Tator, an expert on brain injuries, said hockey culture needs to change and Cherry could influence that. "If he took a strong stand against no hits to the head, it would help," Tator said. He noted that years ago, Cherry added his voice to a move to reduce serious neck injuries in hockey by stiffening rules about hitting from behind.
Cherry is no doubt an iconic figure in hockey, but that's a ridiculous contention on its face. While Tator may have a point that Cherry and other analysts could have an effect on subtly changing hockey viewers' embrace of extreme violence (NFL announcers seem to think so), that phenomenon predates Cherry and will likely exist after he's gone. To draw a connection between the attitude of one broadcaster, no matter how famous, and the entire culture of a sport is specious at best.
This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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…you want to study concussions…say that to his face…
by edbread on Dec 14, 2009 3:29 PM EST reply actions
As near as I can recall, hockey was a swirling brawl before Don Cherry’s show came on the air… and it is much, much more tame since his show has come on the air. That ho owes Don Cherry an apology!
by L'etat, c'est moi on Dec 15, 2009 6:15 AM EST reply actions
Much as I’m not really a Don Cherry fan the Doctor’s comment is inane. Cherry certainly promotes tough, hard nosed hockey, but he never has and never will endorse cheap shot attempts to injure. That’s what clowns like this doctor don’t understand – there’s a huge difference between playing a physical contact sport the way it was intended to be played, and simply running around taking cheap shots at people.
by tedchinook on Dec 15, 2009 1:21 PM EST reply actions
Violence is a key part of hockey. There are rules and we need those rules to protect the players, however, there is a nessecary amount of violence required in the sport. If he is responsible for that, I think we owe him a "thank you".
by StrickNasty on Dec 18, 2009 2:46 PM EST reply actions
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