Why do you suppose hockey players and the sport of hockey itself is so tame....?

Question

compared to the other 3 major sports, NFL, MLB, and NBA? There's not a day that goes by that you don't read about some sort of scandal in those sports. You got rampant steroid use in baseball, crooked refs in basketball, and NFL players getting arrested left and right (think Chris Henry and most of the 2007 Bungals squad, just to name a few). I'm not saying hockey and it's players are angels, but I rarely hear about any incidents or scandal within the sport. Yet most people (Sammy) probably think that since hockey's so "violent" it's players must be just as volatile off the ice, but that's not the case at all.

Why do you think there are so many problems in other sports but not in the NHL?

Answer 1

Where's my favorite troll to address this one?

Answer 2

Because the hockey players arent all paid like the athletes in the other three sports.  Also hockey hotbeds are in the working class cities of canada and the iron range of Minnesota.  When you go to those places you don't here any gansta rap, mostly you see hard working honest people.  Thats not the way it always is, dont get me wrong but even in the nicer areas players need their parents to be involved until they are definitely past 18 if they are going to be successful so they definitely have a positive influence as they are growing up.

Answer 3

Becasue the NHL is still a league that is relatively well protected. It is not a high profile sport like football or baseball. Players are paid less than NFL and MLB players.

The NHL simply doesn't allow bad incidents to get further than they should. Unfortunately, this is where Bettman has gone right.

Answer 4

Maybe because the hockey players get all of their aggression rid of while on the ice? Some of the fights during the games are brutal... :-P

Answer 5

The sport doesnt have any thugs in it like basketball and baseball.  Most of the players in hockey are foreigners and I'm sorry but Canada isn't known for people beating on hookers or shooting up strip clubs.  Also since it is a smaller market they get a lot of fame and money from their fans but it doesnt go to their head.  If you watch a basketball game or a football game and you see how they carry on WHILE PLAYING it is no surprise that there are all these problems off the field/court as well.  There is very little if any showboating in the NHL but basketball and football are built on that.....as for baseball...I dont know what the deal with the steroids is....i guess they want their fun stuff to shrink and see what it would be liek to have b***s....

Answer 6

i disagree with jachooz because even if they did get more fan base you wudnt hear much more scandel because forst of all hockey players are better thn any other athletes they are caring and they arent stuck up.. they are kind and do stuff for people in need like children hospitals and stuff. hockey players are good without drugs because they train for it unlike other athletes who use steroids and stuff like that.

Answer 7

Canadians and Europeans aren't raised the same way as Americans.  Although my parents raised me properly, the same can't be said about a lot of American athletes; I have great manners and people skills, as well as common sense.  Without being racist, let me just say that the majority of American athletes in baseball, football, and basketball are a different breed.  Most people in the U.S. that can afford to play hockey have too much to lose if they get in trouble with the law.  While Americans are probably the c0ckiest and most vulgar players in the league, they still have a sense of class, maybe even more than the other nationalities because of the hockey player's reputation in the U.S. - well off, white Northern guys.  While we have swagger and sometimes excess confidence, we are still civilized.  Most of it is demographics, considering the European players are also generally wealthy and cultured before coming to the NHL.  The fact that the sport is not #1 in most countries outside of Canada also keeps players from generating an over-inflated ego and the idea that they are invincible and may abide by the law only when they feel it is convenient.  Hockey players typically only get into trouble with alcohol abuse and gambling, a problem that all of Europe, Canada, and America experience on a large scale regardless of the sport.

Also, violence is attributed to hockey because of the prevalent fighting until recent seasons, but many don't understand the role fighting plays in the game.  Many players and fans understand the terms fighting and enforcing to be nearly the same.  "Enforcing" is merely looking out for skilled, finesse players who are subject to physical abuse by another teams big hitters, dirty players...etc.  Every sport is dirty, but only hockey allows for the players to handle the situation like men.  With enforcers' limited role in today's game, I believe we are going to continue to see an increase in cheap shots and dirty plays because guys like Chris Pronger can stomp on guys' legs or cross check guys in the back of the head into the glass without consequence.  Class, humbleness, and respect are all cornerstones of the game and such tradition makes hockey what it is in spite of extremely aggressive, physical play and intensity.  I think most players in the league are proud to be a part of that, and don't want to disgrace their names, their country, team, or the game itself.

EDIT - I didn't understand why I got a thumbs down but I reread my first few lines and realized what I appeared to be saying.  The point I meant to get across is not that Canadians and Europeans are raised wrong at all.  I meant that they are raised differently than most Americans, and that not all Americans were raised like I was.  Other American sports are 10 times more accessible to the public outside of the North, which takes into account the affordability of the sports.  Minorities and caucasians alike, inner city athletes that constitute a large percentage of other pro sports aren't raised with the same level of class and integrity as are hockey players.  This is not an individual's fault, as they cannot help the way that they were raised.  It is just a different mindset.  That is the difference between the States and the international athletes I was trying to describe.  It was by no means an attack on Canada or Europe.

2nd EDIT - Dewman...selling superstars and not the team, sound like any conference in particular?  Maybe the one that starts with an E and ends with astern Conference?

3rd EDIT - Callen...poor comparison of economies and social classes between sports.  Basketball, football, and baseball are all 10 times cheaper to play, if not more.  Most hockey players in the world are well off, or at least have enough money to pay for used equipment and have some sort of body of water nearby.  Countries like Sweden, Finland, and Norway are known for their high standards of living and enormous upper-middle class.  Countries like Slovakia and the Czech Republic are among the cheapest places to live in Europe due to their recently booming economies (Germany, The U.K., and Austria are horribly expensive by comparison - when I went to Bratislava, SVK, things were just as cheap as the U.S.).  Russia is a good example of a predominantly lower-class nation, but it's not much worse, if not better than inner city Detroit, Chicago, or New York.

Answer 8

most hockey player are not from the states where living large and "making it rain" are ok.They  come from places where family still matters and nations where they have very poor economies like Russia so you have a different set of values they grew up with. Also the league truly comes down on them when the go over board.

Answer 9

because........ hockey just doesn't make headlines anymore. My son has been in organized hockey for years.  The "professional: hockey stuff is hard to come by.  The owners don't like to show home games on TV because they want people to go to the games........ so it limits the people that will bother to watch the game.

If they would get advertisements out and start getting people involved in hockey again then you would see more stuff...

Answer 10

A lot has to do with how the players are raised.  For the most part, Hockey is an expensive sport that requires a good deal of parental involvement.  Resulting in pretty down to earth and responsible people (yes there are some bad eggs).   Other sports are more affordable or basically cost nothing to get good at.  Therefore your players in those sports tend to come from environments that are a little shady.  

We then expect these thugs to be normal members of society once they receive their big pay day....You can take the kid out of the ghetto but you can never take the ghetto out of the kid.....

Answer 11

To answer your question-

Most of the players in the NFL and NBA are thugs and baseball has had cheaters all throughout time.Hockey is a violent and great sport and the violence is on the ice for the most part so they have no need to go home and beat their wives or get arrested for DUIs.Unleashing your agression is a very good thing when playing a sport I feel.

Answer 12

Has to do with "who" plays hockey.  Americans kids who play hockey usually need a good financial backing to play while growing up... its expensive.  Usually those who grow up with money will not get in trouble as much because they have more to lose.  Also it seems that hockey players usually aren't selfish arrogant *******.  Sure there are probably a few out there, but not as many as there are in the NFL and NBA.  The focus on those leagues is the individual.  The LeBrons, Kobes, TOs, Chad Johnsons, Iversons.  The NBA is especially marketed for their stars, not their teams.  This just breeds a "can't touch me" attitude.  Of course the NHL isn't without its drug and alcohol abusers, but they usually don't end up in shootouts or suspects in murder cases.

It also has to do with the fact that the NHL is mostly Europeans and Canadians, where there is more empasis on family values.