New San Diego Study Concludes NHL Fighting is Staged
By Ken Reed
We’re in the middle of one of the best Stanley Cup Finals in years. The games are well-played, tense affairs. In many ways, it’s hockey at its best — minus the gratuitous fighting and violent cheap shots.
A new study from the University of San Diego adds support to the belief that fighting and vicious cheap shots in the NHL could be virtually eliminated if only the powers that be wanted to do so. The study, done by University of San Diego psychologist Nadav Goldschmied, concludes that most of the fighting in the NHL is calculated and that “the NHL could greatly reduce violence if it assessed more penalties.”
The study’s findings are based on an in-depth review of the 2010-11 NHL season, along with a wider analysis of data from the past 10 NHL seasons.
According to Goldschmied, “major acts of aggression in the league are more likely to be calculated rather than impulsive. The findings suggest that a more punitive system should diminish fighting behavior markedly.”
Given these findings, attorney generals in states where NHL games are played could build a strong case that the NHL is conducting “staged fighting” without a boxing license. This study provides ammunition for AGs across the country to go after the NHL in general, and their local NHL franchise in particular, on these grounds.
Hopefully, this study puts us one step closer to pushing the NHL out of the stone age.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
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"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- League of Fans Sports Policy Director Ken Reed quoted in Washington Post column titled "What happened to P.E.? It’s losing ground in our push for academic improvement," by Jay Mathews
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Vanderbilt Sport & Society - On The Ball with Andrew Maraniss with guest Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director for League of Fans and author of How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
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