Violence in Hockey: Where's the Line?

Patrick Roy stood behind the bench of his Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team, the Quebec Ramparts, as the melee erupted before him. It was game two of a seven game playoff series and late in the second period several players from both the Ramparts and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens dropped the gloves—yet another chapter in the bitter rivalry between these two teams.   The former Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche goalie then did something that created a firestorm of controversy, a decision that not only crossed a line, it lit-up the lines of phone-in talk-radio shows across Canada and started a raging debate in the land of hockey. With the eye of a television camera firmly staring at Roy, the coach made a silent yell, a quick whistle, and gestured to his goalie, his son Jonathan Roy, to head to the other side of the ice where Sagueneen netminder Bobby Nadeau stood resting on the net waiting for the brawl to end. The younger Roy pounced on Nadeau, ripped off his mask, and ... (link)