KrisKing said:
I wasn't referring to just you in particular. I'm not going to patrol the site and tear into you every time you say something negative about a player I like.
My point was that Bertuzzi is villified by people on here and in the media like no other hockey player in history, and the fact is that what he did isn't even close to the worst thing that's ever happened in a hockey game. I mean Kobe Bryant was on trial for raping a girl since the bertuzzi thing happened, and everyone has forgotten about that, but we still harp on a gloved punch?
Kobe's alleged actions have no bearing on the sport he played.
It is also, of course, notable that Bertuzzi is a convicted criminal as a result of his actions. Kobe was never convicted of anything.
Quite frankly, I think Bertuzzi and the Canucks organization deserve every bit of vilification they receive over this incident.
Take a look at the Orpik incident a couple nights ago. It was a bad hit. A dirty hit. But it was not premeditated. It was not the result of chasing a player up the ice. It did not follow numerous threats made by other players. It did not follow a seriously whiny rant by a coach.
It was a bad hockey hit, and one for which Orpik will be suspended. The Bertuzzi incident was anything but, and the atmosphere surrounding that assualt played a major role in how the incident is percieved.
The entire situation surrounding the Bertuzzi-Moore incident just stinks, and all of the odor is coming from Vancouver on this one. Yeah, there have been worse actions that have occured on the ice. But I can't think of any off hand that followed two full weeks of threats, and the foaming at the mouth of an entire organization - from the GM down to the fans - all campaigning for blood over a legal hit.
Well, you got the blood you wanted. Now live with the consequences.
