What to do about the Beer League Tough Guy
Even in Beer League Hockey, players tend to mimic behavior in higher levels of play, but none might be more unsettling than the Beer League tough guy. Anyone who has played beer League has seen them; the hot head that drops the gloves and stupidly punches at the protective face cage of his target, and upon getting kicked out, slams the door shut so hard that the sound reverberates around the rink for several seconds. Unfortunately, these trouble seekers are more the norm than the excep!on, yet their style of play does nothing except create an aura of inevitability where an opposing player unknowingly becomes the target of a dirty hit, punch or wrist breaking stick chop.
Perhaps the worst example I saw while playing was a recent game in which my team was winning by a goal with four seconds left. After our opponent lost an offensive zone face-off, the clock ticked down to zero and it was then that the team’s tough guy grabbed our center from behind and with two hands, placed his stick across my teammate’s throat and started to choke him. The attacking player was immediately knocked down by mul!ple players and removed from the ice before any other players were allowed to exit. This player was subsequently suspended, but not banned. There is a concern among players that this individual poses a real threat to player safety.
Whether it’s Beer League or any other level of hockey, what happens on the ice tends to be self-policed for the most part by referees and other players. This means that while players violating game rules faces in-game penalties and suspensions, they rarely face any discipline outside of the rink. For instance, if what I witnessed happened outside of the rink, the offending individual would at minimum have faced a misdemeanor charge or even more likely, a felony. But instead, it was a game misconduct and a few games suspension. While some permanent resolution needs to be discussed regarding the example I shared, even if this player were to be permanently banned, he still could find his way to another nearby rink and repeat his antics.
So the ques!on is, what is to be done about such incidents as most players in Beer League are there to have fun and get up the next morning to earn a living. Interestingly, out of all the in-game fights I have witnessed, I have never seen anything spill outside into the parking lot. Perhaps it’s due to hockey culture or the fact that real world charges would then apply. Anyone reading this who has either played hockey or other sports with similar situations, what has been your experience with how such issues are dealt with?
